The Seminole Tribe of Florida approved the long-debated gambling compact with the state on Wednesday -- an agreement that could bring Florida at least $1 billion, but could eventually doom some dog and horse tracks.
A day earlier, flanked by the House and Senate's chief negotiators for the compact, Gov. Charlie Crist announced the five-year deal that will give the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to blackjack and other casino-style card games at three casinos.
“This really bodes well for the future of Florida,” Crist said. “…And that’s really the point.”
The compact, which needs to be ratified by the governor and the Legislature, will give exclusive card-game rights to Seminole casinos in Broward County, Tampa and Immokalee. It also allows all of the state’s casinos to continue use of Class III slot machines for 20 years.
But Marc Dunbar, an attorney for Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach and a major proponent of some of the compact provisions, said the deal could be deadly for some pari-mutuels.
“If you’re a pari-mutuel in the Tampa Bay area, you’re in deep trouble,” he said.
Dunbar, who lobbies for several pari-mutuel and gaming interests, said the tax breaks for pari-mutuels with slot machines will benefit South Florida tracks, specifically in Broward, because they’ve gained voter approval for their machines. Pari-mutuels outside of South Florida, where voters have not approved slot machines by referendum, will be at a disadvantage.
Giving pari-mutuels the right to historic racing games and video bingo won’t help pari-mutuels much, Dunbar said. Many of those games don’t exist yet, Dunbar said, and they’re not as popular as slot machines. Seminoles may have made concessions in this compact, but pari-mutuals still come out as losers.
“The tribe giveth and taketh away in this document,” he said.
The Seminole deal, reached by House and Senate negotiators and the Seminole Tribe on Friday, will net Florida $150 million in its first two years, $233 million in its second two years and and $234 million in its final year. In its last three years, the tribe pledges 10 percent of its net revenue, which raises the total the state receives to more than $1 billion.
The deal includes benefits for some pari-mutuels, Florida’s dog and horse tracks and jai alai frontons. It allows for pari-mutuels to have 350 video bingo or historic racing machines at their facilities. A Senate bill also requires that the Legislature authorize longer card room hours at pari-mutuels and allows them to switch from a weekly to a monthly license tax.
The bill would lower taxes on slot machines and lower the licensing fees for slot machines from $3.5 million to $2.5 million.
Attorney Barry Richard, who facilitated negotiations with the tribe, said the Seminole Council unanimously signed the deal around noon Wednesday. It is now headed back to Tallahassee to be addressed by a House council Thursday morning.
Crist has been betting on exclusivity deals with the Seminoles for more than two years, only to lose out on every plan.
This time, the Legislature, given the mandate by the Florida Supreme Court to ratify any compact Crist made with the Seminoles, took the lead. Chief House negotiator Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and top Senate negotiator Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, led the discussions.
The last Crist deal, his second, was opposed by the pari-mutuels, and they don’t fare much better under the new compact.