As Florida lawmakers cast a skeptical eye on the gaming compact negotiated by Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe, tribal leaders are deploying casino workers to get the Legislature to ratify the deal.
Dozens of employees of the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa traveled to Tallahassee this week in a bid to convince lawmakers the benefits of the compact outweigh its downsides.
Under the terms of the compact, the tribe would pay the state $3 billion over seven years in exchange for the exclusive right to offer Las Vegas-style games. Craps and Roulette would join Blackjack and Baccarat, which have been played on tribal casino floors since 2007, when former Gov. Charlie Crist signed a previous compact. The tribe is also promising to create 4,800 new jobs and preserve existing positions.
If the compact is rejected by the Legislature, however, the tribe said increased gaming competition from parimutuels could threaten jobs at tribal casinos like the Hard Rock.
"If this compact doesn't go through, we can't go down the street and do this someplace else," said Caroline Higginbotham, a Hard Rock dealer since 2008. "We have to actually leave the state, which we don't want to do because we're happy where we're at and we want to keep our jobs."
While the Legislature has been largely supportive of job creation efforts, many of Scott's fellow Republicans are taking issue with his plan to use much of the compact's revenue to pay for his contentious $1 billion corporate tax cut package.
"What could happen here, conceivably, if we pass this compact, is we would generate this revenue, but then this revenue could conceivably then immediately go out in a tax cut for, you know, C corporations," Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) noted during a recent hearing.
In addition, social conservatives are concerned about the potential for new tribal games to lead to problem gambling, thereby hurting Florida's family-friendly image.
The Senate's Republican leaders plan to roll out legislation to approve the compact next week but are already downplaying expectations, warning passing the bills could prove difficult.