Seminole loan may balance budget

TALLAHASSEE Gov. Charlie Crist wants the state to close its gaping budget deficit this year and next by adopting a "front-loaded" gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida - in effect a $1.1 billion loan from the tribe.

Under an agreement Crist announced Wednesday, which needs legislative approval, the state would get most of the first four years' worth of its share of payments from a Seminole gambling pact over the next two years.

As part of the deal, the tribe would give the state $600 million the first year and up to $500 million in the second. The state would get no money in the third year and only a small amount the fourth year.

After that, the tribe would begin giving the state a percentage of its profits from the slot machines and card games the state will authorize.

Crist said he wants the money to be spent on education.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am" to the Seminoles for agreeing to the proposal, Crist said at a news conference with Seminole Tribal Council member Max Osceola.

Except for the loan provision, the deal is similar to the compact Crist signed in 2007 allowing the tribe to install more sophisticated slot machines and operate card games such as blackjack and baccarat.

The Supreme Court later ruled he wasn't authorized to enact the compact without legislative approval, but the tribe has continued operating the games, holding aside the state's share of the money.

Crist said the new plan had been shared with legislative leaders.

"I think they'll be pleased with this kind and generous offer," he said.

The proposal immediately drew mixed reviews from lawmakers.

Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, chairman of the House committee in charge of the gambling issue, panned the deal in a statement shortly after the news conference.

"Taking out a line of credit from the Seminoles is not a responsible way to balance our budget," he said. "It is not the best deal for Florida."

Galvano called it, "a short-term solution that will lead to long-term problems for our state and its industries."

Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, an advocate of expanded gambling, praised the deal, calling it a "a godsend" that could help break the stalemate between the House and Senate over the state budget.

Crist's proposal included new laws to benefit horse and dog tracks and jai-alai frontons, which fear losing out to competition from the Seminoles, by letting them operate poker rooms 24 hours a day while increasing maximum bets and pot sizes.

After the first four years of the deal, Florida would get a 10 percent share of all Seminole gambling proceeds up to $2 billion, and then a percentage that increases up to 25 percent of everything over $4.5 billion.

The state Senate and House have each passed their own versions of gambling proposals this legislative session.

The Senate's allows the tribe to operate full-blown casinos, including games e such as roulette and craps that aren't part of Crist's deal.

The House proposal allows less gambling than either Crist's proposal or the Senate's: slot machines, but not blackjack. Slots wouldn't be allowed outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where tracks and frontons can now install them.

The Seminole Tribe would have to agree to any compact and the federal government would have to approve any deal between the tribe and state.

The state faces a $6 billion budget shortfall this year and will also be depending heavily on federal stimulus package dollars to balance its budgets the next two years. That led to criticism that Florida would be using one-time money to pay continuing expenses.

Asked whether it's wise to depend on gambling revenue and federal stimulus dollars for the next two years, when they won't be available for the following two years, Crist responded with characteristic optimism.

"The other thing that is happening, that I believe is already starting to happen, is that we are seeing the, hopefully, beginning of the end of the recession," he said.

Asked what arguments he would make to the legislators to persuade them to accept his proposal, Crist said, "Do it for the children. Do this for the children of Florida."