Negotiations between Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe of Florida regarding the state-tribal compact broke down after lawmakers left town in May, said Barry Richard, the tribe’s attorney. The reasons were disagreements over revenue sharing and gambling regulations.
As this year’s legislative session wound to a close, representatives of Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe of Florida just couldn’t see eye-to-eye on a new gambling-revenue sharing agreement. “I don’t think anybody thumbed their noses at anybody else, but I know it was unsuccessful. I think they just reached the point where, when it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen and they just stopped. The governor went on to run his re-election campaign and the tribe moved on to run their businesses,” Richard said.
The current arrangement guarantees the tribe will pay $234 million for a total of more than $1 billion over five years from gambling revenue from its four casinos outside of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. In exchange, the tribe received exclusive rights to offer slots and blackjack and other card games at its casinos. That provision of the compact will expire in mid-2015.
The Governor’s Office has declined to answer questions about who participated in the meetings, how many meetings have been held and what was discussed. Scott’s Communications Director Melissa Sellers said, “We are currently reviewing all the gaming issues facing Florida and look forward to discussing these issues in more detail in the days and months ahead.”
Negotiations are not expected to resume until after the November election. Darryl Paulson, a retired professor of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, noted, “There’s only one ‘issue’ right now: Winning re-election.” Paulson added it’s unlikely Scott will negotiate a deal that pleases everybody, “so, in many respects, he’s probably better off just going ahead with his single focus on jobs and the economy and hoping that’s the key to re-election.”
Lance, a political science professor at Florida State University, said, “There’s not much the governor would gain from having negotiated a compact. You’ve got some interest in Tampa with the Hard Rock, but it’s not like people in Florida are holding their breath on this.” He explained gambling creates jobs and people enjoy it; but news about a compact could keep anti-gambling voters from voting for Scott. “It kind of cuts both ways, but politically it has the potential to create some fallout if the governor starts talking about it. You don’t want to mobilize concern by drawing attention to something that could be a negative for the incumbent,” DeHaven-Smith said.
Until the legislature passes new gambling laws and Scott renegotiates the Seminole compact, there’s only so much gambling interests can do.
For example, Richard Winning, vice president at Derby Lane racetrack in St. Petersburg, recently asked Pinellas County commissioners to schedule a non-binding referendum this November to allow slots at licensed parimutuel facilities like dog and horse tracks. Derby Lane, the world’s oldest continuously operating greyhound racetrack since 1925, offers greyhound racing, simulcast wagering on horseraces and poker play.
Winning said his greyhound track struggles to compete with the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa. “We’ve been in an environment that is not very conducive to us over the years. By allowing this referendum, we can convince the legislature or let the people make the choice and convince us this is what they want in the community,” he said, adding, “I’d hate to get to the point where I would have to close the doors and send 500 employees out.”
But after some discussion at their most recent meeting, commissioners voted 6-1 against Winning’s request. One concern was timing, since the wording of the referendum would have to be submitted by August 19. In addition, commissioners said the county would have to pay for adding an extra page to the ballot. But mainly they took issue with the fact that “the state hasn’t passed any legislation. This would be in advance without knowing what the state law would say,” Chairwoman Karen Seel noted.
Instead, commissioners agreed to discuss adding legalization of slots at parimutuels onto the legislative platform they’ll use in lobbying efforts with lawmakers.
The county did schedule a referendum on slots in February 2012 when a bill legalizing slots at parimutuels was filed in the Florida Senate. However, because the statewide bill died, the issue never came before voters. Slot machines are legal in Miami-Dade and Broward counties under a 2004 statewide vote to amend the Florida Constitution.
State Senator Jack Latvala said, “Chances are there will be an opportunity to get the whole comprehensive gaming situation in Florida looked at.” Although he has criticized the Seminole compact, he said he supports communities approving slots. “It positions them so that when or if legislators are ready to add slot machines at parimutuels then we know the local voters are okay,” he said.
