Gov. Charlie Crist will announce a new wrinkle in negotiations with the Seminole Indians where the tribe is expected to up the amount of money it gives the state to get a gambling deal at its Hard Rock resorts.

The Seminoles will likely agree to pay the state at least twice the $100 million per year for education they previously agreed to in a compact tossed out by the Florida Supreme Court last year.

The tribe could ante up as much as $500 million or make two years of payments immediately in an effort to get lawmakers to sign off on a deal allowing them to continue running Las Vegas-style slot machines and tabled card games including blackjack and baccarat, sources close to the negotiations said today.

Crist did not provide details but said that he would make an announcement about a revised compact tomorrow.

While the House and Senate have moved forward with their disparate compact plans, Crist has continued negotiations with the tribe.

“I favor the original approach. I think if we have some more news tomorrow that could even be better,” Crist said this evening.

He acknowledged the news would involve more money up front but would not say how much more.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. I don’t know if it’s going to be considerable, though. I would attach that caveat to it. I just don’t know yet,” he said.

Tags: Charlie Crist, education, gambling, state budget, State House, State Senate

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Charlie Crist, gambling, legislature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.