Florida Governor Rick Scott seems to be taking a more active role in promoting the proposed Seminole compact to state legislators. Recently he and Seminole Chairman James Billie and other tribal gaming officials held a press conference where Scott announced if the compact is approved, the tribe will follow through with its .8 billion expansion plans at the Seminole Hollywood and Tampa casinos, creating more than 14,500 construction jobs and 4,800 permanent full-time jobs.
Last week, the leaders of the two legislative committees overseeing gaming appeared to be ready to act.
The compact would grant the tribe exclusivity to continue to offer blackjack (which technically expired in July but is still being dealt at five Seminole properties), and add roulette and craps, in exchange for $3 billion over seven years, triple the amount the tribe paid under the previous compact.
“I think this is the biggest compact ever signed in this country. I think it’s fair to the state of Florida and it’s fair to the Seminoles,” said Scott, who is asking for a $1 billion tax cut package and $250 million in economic incentives. He noted, “We negotiated a compact that is fair and is good for the citizens of our state. Now it’s up to the House and Senate to make their decision.”
In addition, compact approval by Florida legislators would preserve 3,500 jobs held by table games dealers and related employees, tribal officials said. Table games make up about 30 percent of the tribe’s casino business. The Seminole tribe, which has contributed nearly $3 million to political campaigns in Florida over the past three years, including $500,000 to Scott’s PAC Let’s Get to Work, recently released three statewide television ads promoting their casinos as “family-friendly” job creators.
The expansion plan would create a 34-story, electric-guitar-shaped, 800-room hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, bringing the total number of guestrooms there to 1,200-plus. In addition, the expansion would bring swimming pools with submerged tiki huts, 5,000 square foot villas with butler service and private pools, plus restaurants, bars and a “music memorabilia experience” to the Hard Rock’s collection. Seminole Gaming Chief Executive Officer James Allen said, “We could have easily just built some rectangular building but the tribe is once again trying to create something that is iconic, that creates international tourism coming to Florida. We truly believe that that design alone will create additional tourism.” Allen said the Hollywood Seminole Hard Rock could rival Atlantis and Bellagio. A second 500-room hotel tower would be built at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, plus a live entertainment venue with up to 2,000 seats, retail, restaurants and bars, enlarged banquet facilities and a helipad.
Allen emphasized the tribe needs the certainty of the proposed compact to move forward with expansion plans. He noted under the previous compact, the tribe kept its promises–including paying Florida $64 million more than the $1 billion promised by the previous compact over five years.
“We want to create a destination that has longevity for the state and the tribe. We’re not just looking to be a casino. The Seminoles have done what we said we would do. The compact is not about adding more machines. For those trying to derail it, it’s just not accurate. We need the support of the governor in order to move this. I will tell you, we are optimistic,” Allen said.
The proposed compact also would allow slot machines at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a casino in Miami-Dade and let existing tracks in Miami-Dade and Broward counties eventually add blackjack tables.
The compact has not yet received a vote in House or Senate committees. House Regulatory Affairs Committee Chairman Jose Felix Diaz said he is drafting three bills relating to gaming, with some differences from the proposed compact. The bills include decoupling racing from greyhound and horse racetracks; allowing up to 750 slots in Palm Beach and Miami; allowing no additional black jack games at parimutuels; decreasing certain slots taxes; and putting a constitutional amendment requiring statewide voter approval of future gambling expansion on the November ballot. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli noted, “We’re certainly focused on what details that compact can have in it that would work for this body. And then we have to have a discussion at some point with our Senate partners to see if there is something we can move.”
In the Senate, President Andy Gardiner said, “It’s never the compact, it’s everything else that potentially comes with it that makes it a little bit of a challenge. Keep in mind we don’t even budget for the compact now and even if we passed it, it doesn’t come into effect until next year and wouldn’t even have an impact.” He said he expects the Senate Regulated Industries Committee to consider a bill regarding the compact next week.
However, the chairman of that committee, state Senator Rob Bradley, said, “We may be hearing it next week, maybe the week after. We may not hear it at all.”
The short legislative session, which ends on March 11, also concerns a lot of lawmakers. Former state Senator Steve Geller, an authority on Florida gaming law, said, “There just isn’t enough time.” Diaz noted if the legislature finishes its session without a compact “there is always a chance we could be back here in a special session.”
Recently the question has been circulating, what would happen if legislators do not ratify the Seminole compact? At a recent workshop held by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, state Senator Joe Abruzzo, asked Allen what his feelings would be if that happened.
Allen replied, “If the state of Florida determined that it wanted to expand gambling throughout the state I would suggest to you the state could probably generate more income. And if that’s what the state’s direction is, then frankly, that’s the clarity the tribe is looking for. Because obviously, under federal law, the tribe would then no longer be making any guarantees and paying any revenue share.”
One reason legislators could consider not approving the compact is although the state would lose the promised revenue of $3 billion over seven years, it could replace or even increase that revenue with a “wide open” gambling marketplace for parimutuels. Also, without a compact, the state could drop its restrictions on parimutuels outside of South Florida. Under the proposed compact, those restrictions are maintained so the tribe does not object to losing exclusivity for key games.
The proposed compact has plenty of opposition. John Sowinksi, president of Orlando-based NoCasinos, said, “The Seminole compact was sold to Floridians as a firewall against the further expansion of gambling in our state. The fact that the renewal of this compact is now being used by every gambling interest in the state as a tool for gambling expansion betrays the public trust.”
Others opposed to the proposed compact include the state’s parimutuels. Dan Adkins, vice president of Mardi Gras Casino, said the governor’s press conference was “smoke and mirrors,” and that the tribe’s $1.8 billion expansion plan was “bait” to get the legislature to move. He said the expansion will be built with or without a new compact.
“There is no interest in greyhound racing anymore, yet we’re forced under legislation to operate that, so I have an expense that the tribe doesn’t have. We want the elimination, or the option, for live racing so we don’t have to do it if it’s not productive. We want blackjack with a competitive limit, say $100. And we need to have a competitive tax rate. We need to have a tax rate which is closer to the 15 percent rate of the tribe,” Adkins said. He noted “there’s a lot of litigation ahead of us” if parimutuels feel they are being treated unfairly.
Meanwhile, observers are keeping an eye on a federal lawsuit filed in October by the tribe against the state that could determine whether the Seminoles can continue to offer blackjack. That provision of the previous compact expired last year but the tribe said the state broke its promise of exclusivity, thereby allowing the tribe to keep offering the games.
after a key portion of the previous compact expired. That lawsuit, set for trial in July in Tallahassee, would decide whether the Seminoles can continue to have blackjack tables.
Eyes also are on the Gretna Racing/Gadsden County case before the Florida Supreme Court that could determine if slot machines may be allowed outside South Florida if local voters in a particular area approve of them. That’s happened in Brevard, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington counties. A favorable ruling, state Rep. Diaz said, “would blow everything up,” since the legislature could not take away what could become a “vested right” to run slot machines “without consequence.”
And finally, a bill is reportedly being floated in the House that would propose a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval for any expansion of gambling after the new compact and accompanying parimutuel changes are approved.
