Tallahassee still split over tribe’s games

By Mark S. Krzos
mkrzos@news-press.com
Fort Myers News Press
Monday, December 15, 2008

It's a late Tuesday afternoon - not exactly a day for diversion - but you wouldn't know it from inside the Seminole Casino in Immokalee.

Located about 40 miles from Fort Myers, the casino in this town of 20,000 people is thriving. A $12 million expansion doubling the casino's size is under way.

Outside, construction crews are putting a beige plaster over the casino's aluminum siding and large trucks are moving materials in and out of the large parking lot where gamblers are driving in circles trying to find a parking space.

Inside, slot machine bells, bings and beeps are heard everywhere.

And just to the right of the casino's poker room sits a new sight - blackjack tables.

On Dec. 4, the casino took its first major step toward big-league gambling when it unveiled 12 blackjack tables. The casino initially planned to have the tables open by Jan. 1.

"We wanted to have a soft-opening," said Gary Bitner, spokesman for the casino and the Seminole Tribe. "The idea was to make sure everyone knew what they were doing."

Tallahassee turmoil

Getting to this point hasn't been easy. Late last year, Gov. Charlie Crist signed an agreement between the tribe and the state that would allow seven Indian casinos to install Las Vegas-style slots and card games in exchange for hundreds of millions dollars that the state could spend on education.

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio quickly challenged the agreement saying Crist had no authority without legislative approval to sign the agreement

Some eight months later, the Florida Supreme Court sided with Rubio, R-Miami.

It may have been too late.

Immokalee and the Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood had already moved forward with their plans. Slots were installed at all three casinos and 71 blackjack tables opened in Hollywood two weeks before the ruling.

The fight, however, is far from over. Barry Richard, the attorney for the Seminole tribe in Tallahassee, argued that the state "has no regulatory control over the Seminoles' gaming on its land."

"The National Indian Gaming Commission will be the ultimate decider," he said. "They'll be the ones who decide if the Seminole's can have Class III gaming."

Class III gambling includes virtually all games of chance.

Richard said that going back doesn't seem like an option now, not with the state of the Florida economy.

"What we want to do is continue talking with the governor's office and meet with the Legislative leadership," Richard said. "Some 2,000 people are employed directly because of Class III gaming."

Since the arrival of Vegas-style slots and blackjack, the casino added 125 more employees and it's estimated that once the current expansion is complete, the casino will add 400 more.

Expansion continues

Despite another fight looming once the Legislature reconvenes, the Immokalee casino isn't standing still.

More than 100 construction workers from Kraft Construction of Naples are making structural and aesthetic improvements to the interior and exterior of the Immokalee casino.

Among the additions - part of a 35,000 square-foot, $12 million expansion - is The 1st St. Deli, an upscale restaurant and entertainment lounge called the Zig-Zag Lounge.

"We're doubling the size of it," Bitner said of the Immokalee casino.

The casino also plans to increase its number of slots from 800 to 1,100. Right now, about half are considered Las Vegas-style slots.

"As of right now, there are no plans to increase the number of blackjack tables or add other card games like baccarat," Bitner said.

Bitner also said it's too early to discuss long-range plans such as a high-end hotel.

"There is a potential for a significant project there. It's not 100 percent," he said. "It's just a little early to make any kind of announcement on any major complex like that. There are just too many variables at this point."

Blackjack attracts

On this Tuesday afternoon, there are several empty seated at the blackjack tables, which are nonetheless more crowded than the nearby poker room. Throughout the afternoon, players come and go. One of them, Jennifer Cole, 43, of Fort Myers, said blackjack is a big lure.

"Usually, we go to the Bahamas to play," she said. "Now we don't have to go as much. We can come here. It was only a 37-minute drive. I'd expect we'll be here more often now."

Ernie Smith, 71, of Fort Myers, described himself as a poker player but didn't deny that blackjack is going to have a major effect on the casino.

"There's no question about it," he said as he watched over one of the new blackjack tables. "It's a Tuesday afternoon and you can't even find a place to park outside."

Bill Vandevender, 29, said he was just looking for something fun to do Tuesday when he and a friend decided to make a trip down from Lehigh Acres.

"With blackjack and slots, it's getting close to being a real casino," he said.