House offers ‘full-blown casino’ at Seminoles’ Broward facility

Final outcome may rest in hands of Speaker, Senate President

May 1, 2009
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor

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TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – In what a Florida Baptist leader considers a major concession, the Florida House of Representatives has offered to allow banked card games – including blackjack – at the leading Seminole Tribe facility in its counter-offer to Senate negotiators during a May 1 gambling conference committee.

The House offer also permits Las Vegas-style slot machines at the Seminoles’ five other facilities throughout the state, reduces the tax rates on slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and makes other concessions to pari-mutuels outside of South Florida.

Although he is continuing to “digest” the details of the House offer, Florida Baptist Convention Legislative Consultant Bill Bunkley said the proposal is “very disappointing.”

“The House would give the Seminole tribe statewide slots and a full-blown casino at their showcase facility in Hollywood” – the tribe’s most high-profile facility of its six casinos.

“Also, in addition to some concessions to other pari-mutuels throughout the state, the South Florida pari-mutuels would see a tax reduction on their slot machines from 50 percent to 35 percent at a time when the state is looking for additional revenue,” Bunkley told Florida Baptist Witness.

“While I appreciate this continues the Florida House’s tradition to put forward a reduced gambling expansion as compared to the Senate, I still maintain the best and appropriate public policy is no expansion of gambling in any way in the state of Florida,” he said.

Previously, the House leadership had indicated allowing banked card games, like blackjack, was not acceptable, although it was a major feature of the compact negotiated by Gov. Charlie Crist with the Seminoles in 2007, which was voided by the Florida Supreme Court last year.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported April 29 senators would insist on blackjack as a “bare minimum.”

“Without blackjack, I think it’s almost a non-starter,” Sen. Dennis Jones (R-Seminole) told the Sun-Sentinel.

However, Rep. Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel), told the newspaper blackjack is the type of gambling expansion the House cannot support.

“It probably brings in a different type of clientele. It’s higher stakes. Blackjack is a step up. That’s a real casino,” Weatherford said.

Although not a House gambling conferee, Weatherford is second in line to be House Speaker and is a key leader in the body.

Weatherford is a member of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz.

In a February interview with Florida Baptist Witness shortly after his unexpected elevation to House Speaker, Cretul said the House’s traditional opposition to gambling expansion would not change under his leadership, while admitting he could not predict the future.

Cretul, formally a longtime member and deacon of First Baptist Church in Ocala, is a member of Church of Hope, a Baptist congregation that was started in the wake of conflict at First Baptist.

As reported in a Feb. 12 Witness story, only reluctantly would Cretul express outrage that the Seminoles continue to operate illegal games, even though the Florida Supreme Court invalidated the compact negotiated with Gov. Charlie Crist.

“Yes, I’m outraged. … I’m doing my best under the circumstances and the conditions we have to work under,” Cretul said noting the federal government has not stepped in to address the illegal games at the Seminoles’ casinos.

“I don’t like gambling. Okay? At all,” Cretul said, expressing his personal convictions.

Cretul said he wanted the “end result” on the Seminole compact to be “an agreement, a conclusion that is within the laws of the State of Florida.”

When the Witness noted that the governor’s voided compact includes illegal games, Cretul said simply, “People will need to read the law.”

How the gambling negotiations will proceed is a matter of some disagreement.

The Miami Herald reported May 1 that Jones said the gambling negotiations have been “bumped” to the presiding officers of the Legislature – the House Speaker and Senate President, leaving the two leaders to come to an agreement.

Bunkley, however, told the Witness he is hearing there is reason to believe the gambling conference committee may meet again today or later with yet another possible counter-offer from the Senate.

Jones, chairman of the gambling conference committee, told the panel at its May 1 meeting the House made a “good faith offer” and “we’ll certainly get together and compare our notes, and I guess later today we’ll make our suggestions known and you’ll make your suggestions known, should this item get bumped.”

Bunkley will continue to monitor the negotiations throughout the weekend, if necessary.

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