Card games in Casinos

TALLAHASSEE — This could be a lucky year for owners of dog tracks, horse tracks and even Miami's resort casino promoters.

The state's budget outlook is so good that Florida legislative leaders have suggested they might not renew a key provision of the gambling agreement — known as the compact — between the state and the Seminole Tribe that allows the tribe to run blackjack tables and other banked card games at its casinos.

By rejecting an estimated $116 million a year and reducing the games offered by the tribe, legislators could have new latitude to do something they have failed to do for the past five years: update the state's outdated gaming laws and open the door to new gambling options from the tribe's competitors.

Or they could just be bluffing.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility that the governor and Legislature end up doing nothing on the compact, '' said Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who will be the Senate's point man on negotiations this legislative session.

He admitted it could be a ploy to get the tribe and everybody else to the table. "The loss of the banked card games is enough to motivate further negotiation, " he said.

Florida parimutuels and "destination resort" casinos have argued that expanding their businesses would be a better deal for the state than extending the tribe's monopoly.

The tribe, by contrast, has argued that it can guarantee millions of dollars each year, but only if the state gives them something valuable — like exclusive games — in return.

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