It will be back to the negotiating table for Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), if a state House of Representatives version of the compact with Seminole Tribe is accepted in the 
state Senate. The compromise version of the compact adds slots at parimutuels in five counties (Palm Beach, Brevard, Gadsden, Lee and Washington counties) that have already approved them. That in itself might cause the Seminoles to demand a smaller amount of revenue sharing than the $3 billion to which they have already agreed. Other counties could opt in if they vote for slots by January of next year. Four parimutuels in the greater Tampa area could add slots without holding a vote.
Money from the compact would be rechanneled to Tampa Bay Downs, and several forms of racing would be decoupled from the slots-at-parimutuels requirements. As Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) said,“I think it is barbaric that we require people to engage in greyhound racing that kills animals and has dogs running for their life with nobody watching.’’ A new, slots-only casino would be approved for Miami-Dade County. In return, the Seminoles get veto power over daily fantasy sports. Taxes on racinos could go from 35% to as low as 25% if they agree to cut back on their number of slot machines. These are only some of the many moving parts on a Rube Goldberg contraption that demonstrates eloquently why one should never watch sausages or legislation being made, although Rep. Jose Felix Diaz (R) managed to get Orlando solons on board by promising that the Seminoles wouldn’t be able to create megaresorts in their area. The compact still has a tenuous hope in the Legislature but only two weeks remain before it will become academic.
* While Gov. Scott’s compact is still alive and kicking Florida, gambling legalization in Georgia is effectively dead for 2016, after Speaker of the House David Ralston (R) 
punted on holding a vote. Ralston chalked up his opposition to the influence of the churchy set, saying, “I have found that the people I have talked with care deeply about the character and image of our state and the faith community felt they had not been heard. I want them to know they have been heard.” He was backstopped by Gov. Nathan Deal (R, right), who said gambling wouldn’t “enhance” the Peachtree State and would divert discretionary dollars from the Georgia Lottery, a prime source of education funding. Both MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands expended a lot of political capital on convincing Georgia legislators, and now must consider whether it’s worth making the effort again in the next Lege.
* A safer bet is a proposed casino in Tiverton, Rhode Island. The enabling legislation is progressing through the Legislature and there’s a lot for politicians to like, whether it’s a guaranteed $3 million (regardless of actual casino proceeds) to Tiverton or at least $47 million in tax revenues (more if Massachusetts withholds its fourth and final gaming license). Tiverton residents have mixed feelings about adding a casino that would replace outdated Newport Grand. But as sleuth Charlie Chan sagely observed, when money talks few are deaf.
* Indiana regulators may be in contravention of their state’s limitation of two casino licenses per owner. Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc.’s purchase of Pinnacle Entertainment would add Belterra and Ameristar East Chicago to a portfolio that already includes Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg. The state seems clearly in the wrong here but is ignoring complaints from Unite-Here against allowing the takeover to occur. While combining Pinnacle with assets of Penn National Gaming creates a number of redundancies (especially in St. Louis), divesting assets would appear to defeat the purpose of the Pinnacle acquisition.
* Believe it or not, if you live in Maryland you can’t hold a friendly game of poker in your home. The House of Delegates is moving to change that, voting unanimously to legalize residential poker games. The state still extends certain restraints: You can’t play more than once a week or have a buy-in exceeding $500. However, just as the current ban is selectively enforced (a game at a retirement home was busted), Delegate Kirill Reznik says, “I highly doubt if you go over by $40 the cops will be at your door.” It’s nice to see a bit of common sense in politics every now and then.
* Even if you’ve lived in Las Vegas for years and think you know the area, there are still myriad discoveries to be made — as the New York Times‘ intrepid Lucas Peterson discovers. His odyssey is a real eye-opener.
The Pinnacle/GLPI deal should be good by Indiana law. The law says the limitation is of two casino licenses per owner. In this case the license is owned by the new Pinnacle opco, not GLPI. GLPI just owns the real estate. It’s no different than a real estate company leasing a company space in a shopping mall. The shopping mall does not own the store, just the real estate.
With it being an election year, the state legislature in Georgia was never going to give the gambling bills any real hope of succeeding. Any new laws that would significantly change the status quo in the state rarely passes on its’ first attempt. It took several tries back in the early part of the last decade to get the law changed to raise the max ABV % on beer from 6% to 14%. Same with the bill that allowed the question of Sunday retail sales of alcohol to be done at the local level instead of the state level (Some elements of this law were being used in the main gaming legislation being considered.). Back in the Summer of 2012, there was a ballot question in the GOP primary in regards to legalizing casinos with some of the tax revenue being earmarked for the HOPE Scholarship (Which is currently funded by the Georgia Lottery and saw cuts in recent years as the Georgia Lottery saw a drop in revenue during the economic downturn.). The measure was very close, with “yes” eking out a win. Governor Deal is term-limited and will leave office in 2019, so most speculate that until he’s out of office, the chances of any gaming bill being signed into law look slim. However, he did make overtures late last year that if the interested companies were willing to be taxed at a high enough rate, he could be swayed to drop any opposition. It may be worth keeping a tab on campaign contributions to the reelection campaign of Speaker Ralston and other GOP legislators to see if they’re getting any from gaming interests.