Governor Bush may let tribes expand gambling
 
 
 
June 15, 2005
 
 
By Mary Ellen Klas, the Miami Herald
 
Miami, Florida
 
 
To submit a Letter to the Editor: heralded@herald.com
 
 
Tallahassee, Florida - Governor Jeb Bush agreed Tuesday to open negotiations with the Seminole Tribe of Florida aimed at allowing them to expand their gaming offerings on their reservations.

The governor, a vigorous gambling opponent, said in a statement that the decision to open talks with the Indians was inevitable in the wake of voter approval of slot machines at Broward parimutuels when "Florida's voters signaled a change in the state's policy toward gambling.''

But Bush, who resisted the Indians' request for negotiations for more than seven months, was silent as to how much he is willing to give the Indians before his term expires in 2006.

''It's going to be a process to determine if common ground can be reached -- and entering into negotiations makes no guarantee that an agreement can be reached,'' said Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss.

The Seminoles, who operate the Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, asked the governor to open the talks after voters approved the constitutional amendment allowing for slot machines at South Florida parimutuels in November. The amendment left the decision up to voters in Miami-Dade, which rejected slots, and in Broward, which approved them.

The tribe's general counsel, Jim Shore, said in a statement that the tribe was pleased to begin the talks and "looked forward to fruitful results.''

Schweiss said Florida's second tribe, the Miccosukee, which operates the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center in western Miami-Dade County, is also expected to enter into talks soon.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 allows a tribe to offer the same kinds of gambling as its state but requires it to secure a written agreement with the state -- called a compact -- before offering casino-style games, such as slots.

The Seminoles have sought a compact with Florida since 1991, after casino-laden cruise ships began docking at Florida's ports. But then-Gov. Lawton Chiles rejected their appeal, as did Bush.

The issue went before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the state is not required to enter into a pact, but the U.S. Department of Interior could override the state and write its own rules.

Tribes' reasoning

The tribes believe that Florida's constitutional amendment now entitles them to Las Vegas-style slot machines, a faster and more engaging game than the bingo-style slot machines they currently operate at their existing casinos.

The governor resisted those arguments during the legislative session last spring and tried to persuade lawmakers to limit gambling at Broward's four parimutuel facilities to Class II gaming in an attempt to prevent expansion at Indian facilities. However, the session ended with no enabling legislation for the parimutuels' slots. The issue remains unresolved.

Nonetheless, it's clear that the state will regulate parimutuel slots, and gambling opponents say Bush can use that fact as leverage in negotiations with the tribes.

''Now the Indian nations will have legitimate competition, and so they have an interest in negotiating with the regulator of that competition,'' said Rep. Randy Johnson, a Celebration Republican whose No Casinos group opposed the initiatives.

 

Community issues

Rep. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican and House negotiator on the issue, said he expects the talks to go on for several months and he believes the governor will try to give as little as possible.

''I would guess the governor would negotiate on the bare minimum of what they can provide,'' he said.

The governor will abide by a handful of goals as he enters into the talks, Schweiss said: He will work to ensure that gambling at the Indian casinos is perceived as fair by the public, that the Indians address potential problems with crime -- such as petty theft and money laundering -- that they have a program to address compulsive gambling and that they respond to the needs of the local community.

The parimutuel industry welcomed the news of the negotiations as a sign that they could be closer to getting slot machines, too.

''If the tribes were to get a compact, eventually the playing field catches up,'' said Alan Koslow, general counsel for the Pompano Park Harness Track. "I don't see the state giving to one and not the other.''

 

Herald staff writers Roberto Santiago and Amy Sherman contributed to this report.

 
Copyright 2005, the Miami Herald.