No slots of any kind for Palm Beach in new gambling deal
by Dara Kam | August 31st, 2009The $12.5 billion deal Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminoles signed today takes slot machines off the table for the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
Track owner Pat Rooney Sr., his lobbyists and track owner Pat Rooney Sr. and some influential lawmakers had pushed for a Palm Beach County referendum in which voters could allow the track to expand its gambling operations to include slot machines. Senate President Jeff Atwater’s district includes the dog track.
But even the possibility of slots of any kind in Palm Beach County was a deal-breaker for the Seminoles, sources close to the negotiations said.
The final deal, which lawmakers must sign off on before it goes into effect, won’t allow slot machines or “slots-lite” - video terminals that look and play like the more lucrative Las Vegas-style slots - in Palm Beach or anywhere outside of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, where they are already permitted.
The Seminoles have agreed to pay the state $150 million a year or more, depending on how much their casino operations bring in, for 20 years in exchange for giving them exclusive rights to slot machine gambling throughout the state.
The tribe also gets to keep its blackjack games at all of its seven location although lawmakers had wanted that limited to the Broward County facilities and another near Tampa.
Tags: blackjack, Charlie Crist, gambling, Jeff Atwater, Palm Beach Kennel Club, Pat Rooney Sr., Seminole Tribe of Florida, Seminoles
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
Sentenced to die for crimes judged heinous and cruel, inmates await execution in a 9 feet by 6 feet cell.
August 31st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Bulls%$t!!!! How and why do the indians get to dictate to our state? If I want to gamble in my home county and spend my money here I should be able to!!
August 31st, 2009 at 4:11 pm
What a disgrace
Nice job Charlie
August 31st, 2009 at 5:04 pm
The biggest handicap in this state is choo choo charlie himself. The Indians
can take their casino’s and get out of
town-they do not have the right to dictate how things are run and if they’re not happy-I’ll personally wave
them goodbye-the same goes for choo choo. He can even pull off a gambling
deal-what an absolute failure he is-and
this state wants him for governor-heaven
help us.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:11 am
Are the campaign contributions from the Indians to the State Legistlators that much that Represenatives will look the other way when it comes to dealing fairness with the Pari Mutuel properties. A great injustice has been carried out in the state, in the name of greed. The Represenatives made a deal wich gave the Indians exclusitivty for 15 years of banked card games and slot machines. The Nothern Pari Mutuel properties which have been loyal tax paying business will be destroyed by this unfair deal. Who in the senate will stand up and fight the big money machine.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:46 pm
[...] Post On Politics » Blog Archive » Post on Politics - [...]
September 6th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I think this is really an interesting move.Keep your fingers crossed for the responses from various people for this one.
October 25th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Get the best rakeback payments when you play online poker from raketherake.com.