Florida to Seminoles: F@&k you!

Although we’ve yet to hear from the Seminole Tribe, it’s a pretty strong bet that they’re not going to like Florida state Senate President Bill Galvano‘s proposed gaming-expansion legislation one darn bit. In a unanimous vote, Galvano’s Senate Regulated Industries Committee moved forward legislation which effectively begs the previous state/Seminole compact but, if adopted, would run a cart and horses through the agreement Gov. Rick Scott (R) negotiated with the tribe, which died due to legislative indifference. The tribe’s blackjack exclusivity would be a thing of the past, as racinos in Miami-Dade County and Broward County would be granted 25 tables apiece. Galvano seems to think the Seminoles will go along with this and is already spending some of the tribal blackjack revenue that has been held in escrow. More likely, the Seminoles will tear up what’s left of the compact and keep all revenue for themselves.

The blackjack expansion is the first in a long series of provocations. Slots would be expanded to eight additional counties, dog tracks and jai-alai frontons will be able to convert to pure-casino facilities, daily fantasy sports would be legalized under the auspices of an Office of Amusements and — to add insult to injury — reduces the tax rate on racinos from 35% (already down from Jeb Bush‘s punitive 50%) to 25%. In addition to allotting $20 million to buy back permits from defunct parimutuels, the bill would allocate $20 million to buy back permits in use, while plumping existing racing purses with an extra $20 million. That’s a lot of moving parts but Galvano seems to have the momentum to get it through the Lege. As for the Seminole, it’s just one more case of ‘white politician speak with forked tongue.’ As for Scott, his relevance to the process shrinks with each passing day.