Gambling deal may be getting tougher.
Palm Beach Kennel Club’s prospects for installing lucrative slot machines got more complicated Wednesday when a Senate panel agreed to overhaul Gov. Rick Scott’s $3 billion proposed compact with the Seminole Tribe.
With the Legislature already past the midway mark, the remake of the gambling deal threatens the likelihood that a compact can be approved before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn March 11.
Most significantly, the changes would authorize new slots in six counties, like Palm Beach, where voters have authorized them. It also includes a provision declaring that fantasy sports are legal in Florida, part of another bill advanced by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who spearheaded Wednesday’s move.
“The compact was a first draft,” Negron, whose district includes northern Palm Beach County,, said of the deal worked quietly for months between Scott, the tribe, and a handful of lawmakers before it was announced in December.
“The compact was a foundation on which the final decision would be built. I think everybody expected that when you have to get involved in the legislative process. Without the amendments, the compact wouldn’t have passed today – the anti-gaming people would’ve been voting ‘no’ and others voting ‘no’ on geographic concerns.”
