South Florida pari-mutuels form coalition in table games quest
By Josh Hafenbrack
Copyright © 2008 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tallahassee Bureau
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
TALLAHASSEE: South Florida's pari-mutuels announced a coalition Tuesday that will mount a lobbying campaign to win parity with Indian gaming resorts — an effort that, if successful, could lead to blackjack tables at the tracks.
As the state Legislature is poised to reopen discussions over a defunct deal with the Seminole Tribe, the South Florida Gaming Coalition said legislators would snag an extra $495 million in revenues by giving five tracks in Broward and Miami-Dade counties the same table games as Indian resorts.
The coalition includes two tracks in Broward County: Mardi Gras Gaming, and Isle Casino and Racing at Pompano Park. The tracks already have Vegas-style slots, racing and poker tables, but executives said customers are passing them over for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's blackjack and baccarat.
The group stressed that its goal is an equal playing field with the Seminoles on hours of operation and gaming options — even if that means no one gets table games.
"It's dire," said Dan Adkins, vice president and CEO of Mardi Gras Gaming. Revenues are down 22 percent at Broward tracks from last year, he said, hit by a double whammy of the declining economy and more attractive gaming options at Hard Rock in Hollywood.
At a Tallahassee news conference, track executives said their troubled industry employs 2,500 people in South Florida and, from Broward alone, ships $132 million in tax revenues to the state.
After signing a compact with Gov. Charlie Crist that promised $100 million in annual tax payments, the Seminoles opened blackjack tables in July. Weeks later, the state Supreme Court ruled Crist should have sought legislative approval. The blackjack tables are still open, however, because the tribe is not governed by state law.
Struggling for revenues, legislators are now considering whether to ratify Crist's deal or try to modify its terms. The Republican-run House has appointed a special committee to study the compact .
Seminole Gaming Under Fire
By Catherine Dolinski
cdolinski@tampatrib.com
Copyright © 2008 - Tampa Tribune
Wednesday, January 17, 2008
South Florida race track owners stepped up their campaign Tuesday to convince state lawmakers to take away the Seminole tribe's exclusive right to offer banked card games like blackjack.
Their new ace in the hole: the state's budget woes. The racetrack owners told reporters Tuesday that "leveling the playing field' between tribe and non-tribe gambling facilities would yield the state a bigger portion of the proceeds.
Last summer, the state Supreme Court voided the Seminoles' compact that Gov. Charlie Crist negotiated with the tribe. The court found that Crist had exceeded his authority by not getting the Legislature's approval for the deal, which allows the Seminoles to offer casino-style slots and gives the tribe exclusive rights to offer banked card games in exchange for the state receiving at least $100 million per year.
That translates to a tax rate of 7 percent - and it's not enough, according to the parimutuels, who pay a tax rate of 62 percent. The industry wants "a level playing field," meaning no exclusive gaming rights and comparable tax rates. Do that, they said, and non-tribal facilities will get more business and more than double the amount of money they send the state in annual taxes, perhaps reaching $500 million annually.
Lawmakers and Crist are starting work on another compact, which could either reflect or depart from the original terms. Meanwhile, the Seminoles continue to offer the games and pay the state its share of the take, because federal rather than state law governs tribal gaming. The House's new compact committee meets for the first time Thursday; its leader, Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, has already voiced concerns about the card games.
Creating a "level playing field" will mean the Seminoles pay nothing to the state, said Barry Richard, the tribe's attorney. Federal law gives the tribe all gaming rights held by any other facility in the state, he said. "They're paying for exclusivity."