Florida legislature rejects $3m tribal deal
Florida law makers have rejected a proposal which would allow the Seminole tribe to offer craps and roulette in its existing Tampa and Hollywood casinos.
The proposal went through months of negotiations between Florida Governor Rick Scott and the tribe. It was expected to cost $1.8bn and generate $3bn for the state over a seven year period, making it the biggest tribal revenue agreement in the country.
The proposal prohibited the Seminole from building a new casino for 20 years as well surrender its blackjack and slots.
Having passed the State House, the bill came to a standstill in the Senate last week, supporters gave up on the idea when they realised it would be impossible for the development to make any ground before the 11 March deadline.
“Going into today we knew full well that the gaming bills were on life support,” said State Representative Jose Felix.
“The House was hoping for a miracle, but by the close of the day we saw one was not coming and had no option but to pull the plug.”
The Seminoles had promised thousands of new jobs for Florida had the expansions gone through.
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