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Casinos' Disputed Games Play On

Tribune photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Class III slot machines at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 21, 2008

TAMPA - The games go on at Seminole casinos as lawyers, lawmakers and tribal officials deliberate the arcane world of gaming law and Indian sovereignty in the wake of a court ruling that voided an agreement between the state and the tribe.

Last week, the Seminoles and Gov. Charlie Crist filed separately for a rehearing with the state Supreme Court after justices ruled July 3 that Crist overstepped his authority in negotiating the deal, or "compact," without the Legislature's approval. The state House of Representatives filed the suit last fall.

A wrinkle in the case is that Seminoles are already offering high-end slot machines, blackjack and baccarat, games that previously were not allowed on reservations but were sanctioned under the now-invalid compact. Until the Supreme Court order is final and the request for a rehearing is resolved, the games will go on.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is one week into its monthlong summer recess. A new Legislature convenes after the November elections, with new leadership. And the case could move to federal courts, because the U.S. Department of the Interior ultimately oversees tribal-state agreements.

As for now, "there's not much going on," acknowledged Barry Richard, an attorney for the Seminoles.

In November, Crist announced he and the tribe had reached agreement on a deal that allowed the Seminoles to offer the same higher-caliber "Class III" slot machines that are allowed in South Florida racetrack and jai-alai casinos. The deal also allowed the tribe to exclusively offer "banked" card games: blackjack, baccarat and similar games in which participants play against the house. In return, Florida would get a cut of the action, totaling billions of dollars over the 25-year compact.

The Supreme Court, however, said that only the Legislature can change state law, and Crist's deal was invalid.

Several scenarios could unfold in the coming weeks and months:

•The existing deal could be brought before the Legislature for ratification. However, a Republican majority in the House opposed the Crist deal, calling it an expansion of gambling. Fresh faces in the Capitol and its leadership offices come November might be more receptive.

•Crist and the tribe could negotiate a new deal, one that doesn't include card games. The Seminoles would have little incentive to consider such an agreement, though. When negotiations bogged down last year, the Interior Department released its own procedures on Class III gaming for the tribe to follow in the event no deal could be reached. The federal procedures would allow the high-end slots without the card games - with no state regulation whatsoever and no revenue sharing.

•There may be law enforcement action, particularly if the Supreme Court denies the requests for a rehearing, because the tribe is now offering games allowed by a compact that is now invalid. But issues of sovereignty make that proposition dicey. The attorney general's office can't intervene because the state can't act against a sovereign nation. The U.S. Attorney's Office might, but spokesman Steve Cole of the Middle District office in Tampa said, "At this point, I'm not sure what our role would be."

Cole's sentiment is echoed by other players in the gaming drama.

"Our legal staff has been in meetings in the last week examining our options, looking at what the next best step is," said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for Crist.

"We're still weighing our options and we haven't made a decision whether we can move forward," said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum.

Attorneys for the Pompano Park racetrack and casino in South Florida sought an injunction shutting down the reservation card games, but on July 8, U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle in Tallahassee denied the motion. He said the Seminoles could not be targeted in the lawsuit because the tribe has sovereign immunity.

So the cards are still flipping at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood, Fla., and plans are still in place to offer blackjack at the Tampa Hard Rock toward the end of the year.

"All the publicity certainly hasn't hurt in terms of pulling people out to play the games," Seminole spokesman Gary Bittner said.

Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (813) 259-8402 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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