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McCollum Opposing Tribal Slot Machines
Florida
Attorney General Bill McCollum has filed
suit to stop the start of a slot machine
compact signed by the Seminole Tribe and
Florida Governor Charlie Crist. McCollum
is trying to get the U.S. Department of
the Interior to hold on validating the
slot machine deal until it is decided
whether or not Crist can make such a
deal without the legislature’s approval.
The slot machine compact signed between
the tribe and the state would be for 25
years, and Crist signed the deal on his
own without input from Florida
lawmakers. McCollum holds that the
Florida Legislature must give their
permission before any kind of slot
machine compact is signed within the
state. He is waiting for the State
Supreme Court to make their ruling.
McCollum says that it is up to the state
to decide the matter before the
government forces the slot machine pact
upon them. He is not alone in his
misgivings as House Speaker Marco Rubio
also agrees that the Legislature should
have a say in whether or not the terms
of the slot machine compact are
agreeable to those in the state.
The Seminoles have been trying for about
16 years for the state to allow them to
bring in slot machines, but have been
blocked at every turn. When Jeb Bush was
in office, he continued to hold them
off, even after it became federal law
that they were allowed the slot
machines. Once Broward County legalized
them, they gave the tribe the right to
have them as well.
The new deal will give them their slot
machines as well as table games like
blackjack and baccarat, in return for a
portion of the proceeds to come to the
state. The plan guarantees at least $100
million a year back to the state of
Florida, and as revenues increase so
would the amount the state gets.
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