The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which already has a potentially lucrative gambling pact with Gov. Charlie Crist, is trying to convince the state Legislature to approve it. Their message, in so many words: We want it all and we want it now!
James Allen, CEO of gaming operations for the Seminoles, made the tribe’s wishes known at the Florida Gaming Summit on Tuesday in Hollywood, as covered by the Miami Herald. Lawmakers might have heard him better had he made his remarks in Tallahassee, but Hollywood just seems a friendlier venue to make an argument for more gambling, doesn’t it?
Allen’s hard sell goes like this: The Seminoles will make good on their promises to put $150 million annually into state coffers and expand its Hard Rock Hotel & Casino facilities in Hollywood and Tampa, but only if they get exclusivity on certain types of games, like blackjack and baccarat. If the Legislature decides to expand unlimited gambling statewide, the deal is off.
Furthermore, Allen wants an answer right away, saying: “It’s gone on too long, and what’s been going on is not in the tribe’s best interests.” The Legislature may take up the matter in a December special session, or wait until the 2010 regular session in March.
Crist and the tribe have had a deal in place for nearly two years, though the first version was scratched by the Florida Supreme Court because it didn’t have legislative approval. Now that it’s in the Legislature’s hands, lawmakers have shown little interest in talking with tribal leaders—possibly because the Seminoles, as a sovereign nation, don’t really have to answer to state law.
This standoff of sorts isn’t going to get anything passed anytime soon. There’s also the question of how bad Florida really needs the money, since it seems to have been doing all right without gambling for this long without it hurting tourism.
Harris Rosen, the legendary Orlando hotel developer, told me in an earlier interview that gambling isn’t necessary to attract the type of non-Vegas crowds that are traditionally drawn to the Sunshine State. “I’m not so sure that it hurts us not to have gambling,” Rosen says, “but it also doesn’t hurt us that we don’t.”
It’s no secret that hotel occupancy and revenue in Florida is down significantly over the past year, but that’s a result of the recession, not because the Sunshine State suddenly became boring. So here’s my question to all of you: Would more gambling be good for Florida, or should we hold the cards we already have?
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