Governor Crist Threatens Vetoes If Gambling Issue Not Solved

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Florida Governor Crist Threatens Vetoes If Gambling Issue Not Solved | Land casino news
http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gambling-news/gambling-law/governor_crist_threatens_vetoes_if_gambling_issue_not_solved_51190.html

Legislators played hard ball with Governor Charlie Crist after he signed a gambling compact with the Seminole Indians back in 2007. They brought the matter to the state Supreme Court, who, in turn, voided the compact. They claimed the governor did not have the authority to negotiate the compact.

Now, it appears to be payback time for the governor. On Sunday, Crist threatened lawmakers that if they did not complete a deal with the Seminole Indians regarding casino gambling, he would use his veto power for some of the projects legislators have put in the current budget.

"If it doesn't happen, I may have to cut things out of this budget that are put in there," said Crist "The members are acutely cognizant of that. There are important things they want to be able to do and I want them to do. In some ways the Seminole compact money gives us the opportunity to do that."

Legislators and Governor Crist have been working the entire legislative session on trying to nail down a gambling deal in the state. The House, Senate, and the governor have vastly different idea on how expanded gambling should be handled.

The House believes the Seminoles should be stripped of blackjack, and that pari-mutuels in the state should receive expanded gambling options. Late last week they softened their stance on the blackjack issue.

The Senate's plan called for full scale casino gambling at Seminole casinos in Florida. They have had to also soften that stance and now are pushing only for the blackjack.

Governor Crist had a deal in place with the Seminoles that neither the House nor the Senate approved of. The plan would have had the Seminoles giving the state a large sum of money up front, but limited funds in the out years of the deal.

Posted:06.05.2009, 11:42

Oh my, the state of Florida at it's best again.......

Nothing ever surprises me anymore!

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gwendolyna, Well I was wondering if anyone was interested in the brick and mortar casino news.... At least you are!

Posted:06.05.2009, 16:09

Always interested.....especially when it is local news.

Florida should have had legalized gambling years ago, even before it became popular on the Mississippi, but ....... that's just the way it is here. Always a stop gap somewhere.

At least the Seminole tribe has given us several venues to enjoy and they are reaping the rewards.

gwendolyna

Posted:06.05.2009, 16:56

I was dissapointed that the Seminole compact didn't happen. I gamble in Mississippi when I can and it takes 3 hours to get there. Have been to Atmore Alabama to the new Wind Creek Casino which is only 1 hour away and it was so crowded we couldn't sit down to play. It would be so nice to be able to gamble in Florida and contribute to our own economy instead of helping the economy in Alabama and Mississippi.

Posted:06.05.2009, 17:12

I totally agree sanaj49. I had a couple of girlfriends go over to Tampa a couple of weeks ago, about 2 1/2 hours from here) and they said the same thing about the Hardrock there. Also, they told me that there were no small stakes blackjack tables at all, all starting at $25. So, they did play the slots but didn't hit anything much to speak of. Our little group was going to Biloxi on a fairly regular basis for a while before Katrina wiped everything out, but that is a 9 hour ride from here. So, needless to say when we went it was costly because we would stay at least 2 nights. The drive out wasn't bad, but the drive back with no sleep in over 48 hours was hard! Anyway, maybe with the bad economy, the powers that be will get something done here (doubt it, but maybe).

Posted:07.05.2009, 05:19

The governing body of Florida is a joke. Nobody seems to be mentioning the fact that the Indian Casinos are not regulated. They can set their machines to pay out any amount they wish. They can rig any game they wish. There is no accounting or oversite by anyone other than themselves. They can cheat, steal, lie or basically do whatever they want with no consequences. So what does the Legislture decide to do ??? Give the Indians all the best casino type games and leave the Pari-Mutuel tracks who employ thousands and pay millions or billons in taxes struggling for survival. The people want casino type games, period. That's why the casinos are packed. In every location throughout the country where a casino has located near a Pari-mutuel facility the pari-mutuel went out of business. So why is the Legislature reluctant to give similar games to the tracks ??? It's easy for me to see why the Governor, Charlie Christ, might side with the Indians. He's a career politician and I'm sure he wants to run for President some day and he will need plenty of financial backing at that time so who could fill that bill better than the Indians who are held unaccountable. I for one will be voting against every single Representative and Senator that agreed to help the Indians plant their hatchett in the backs of the Pari-Mutuels.

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SonOfAGun,

Welcome to noluckneeded!
I think all casinos should be regulated.. online casinos and land casinos.

Posted:07.05.2009, 10:24

SonOfAGun, well put indeed! I did read a small blurb on one of the local news lines this morning regarding this issue. The headline read "LasVegas style Gambling coming to Florida". So, the governor has put the squeeze on the legislature (in other words, you scratch my back or I'll not scratch yours). The article ended with this statement: "The deal is expected to generate a half billion dollars for the state. A portion of that money would go to education." Don't you just love the way they always throw education dollars into the mix when any gambling issue arises? Just like the promises they made when they instituted the lottery. Hummm......????

And TDTAT, agreed wholeheartedly!

gwendolyna

Posted:07.05.2009, 10:49

From what I know, Indian/Tribal casinos are regulated. The state gaming, regulates them, just like state owned casinos. Sure they have their own Tribal Gaming Commision/Authority, but they also have state gaming agents who come in and inspect the operations of the casino.
But I honestly feel like any state that has tribal casinos, it would be in their best interest to open and run state run casinos, I feel like it would help each states economy and give competition to the tribal casinos.