Seminoles Likely to Reject Florida Casino Gambling Deal

A representative for the Seminole Tribe of Florida says the casino gambling bill passed by the state legislature is not acceptable to the tribe.

An attorney for the Seminole Tribe said Thursday that the tribe is unlikely to accept the casino and gambling compact approved by the Florida legislature. Barry Richard says increased competition and costs in the new proposal make it less palatable to the Seminoles.

The tribe is currently operating under an agreement reached almost two years ago with Governor Charlie Crist. That deal, which gave Seminole casinos exclusive rights to blackjack and other table games in exchange for annual payments of $100 million or more, was found by the state Supreme Court to exceed Crist's authority.

After months of tense negotiations between a state Senate proposing almost unlimited gaming and a House wanting a gambling rollback, a compromise was reached, but the Seminoles weren't part of the restructuring.

Richard says an increased payment to $150 million is a part of the problem for tribe leaders. Worse, the lawmakers inserted a clause potentially allowing the expansion of table games beyond tribal casinos and costing the tribe its exclusives without voiding the deal.

''I feel firmly that the tribe couldn't live with it and the [U.S.] Department of Interior wouldn't approve it,'' Richard told the Miami Herald.

The bill is expected to receive Crist's signature, and would then receive an August 31st deadline for final details and negotiations with tribal authorities.

Some legislators say if the tribe won't accept the basic package, they'll allow the law to revert back to illegalizing all table games and ask the federal government to force blackjack out of Seminole casinos. But Richard says that's a horrible solution.

``If we don't work it out, the Legislature won't get anything at all. That's the worst thing for the state of Florida.''