Roulette, craps may be on way

Bill lets casinos offer games; greyhound racing could cease

TALLAHASSEE — Spin the wheel and roll the bones: Craps and roulette could be headed to casinos in Florida.

A deal under negotiation in the state Legislature would allow those games at Seminole Tribe casinos for the first time. The plan also would: Allow pari-mutuels such as horse and dog tracks to stop the races and simply continue to operate as casinos — a move that would please animal rights activists.

Allow pari-mutuels to deal designated player games, such as three-card poker, which a court previously found to violate the Seminoles’ gambling agreementwith the state.

Increase the Seminoles’ payments to the state by $220 million in the next year and millions more in the two decades to come.

The plan emerged Wednesday as the House and Senate tried to recon-

Except for thoroughbreds, animal racing is no longer lucrative for many.

cile their differing versions of gambling bills.

The changes had been at the heart of a gambling proposal passed by the Senate, but not in amore restrictive version passed by the House.

As negotiations continued, House negotiators announced they had come around to the Senate positions. That gives the plan a pretty good shot at becoming law, as it dealt with many of the objections fromall sides.

Allowing pari-mutuels to stop races but continue to operate casinos has long been a goal of both parimutuel owners and animal rights activists.

With the exception of thoroughbred racing, animal racing has dropped in popularity and is no longer a money maker formost operators.

There are 16 greyhound tracks in the country, according to the National Greyhound Association, and nine of them are in Florida.

Of those, two — Magic City in Miami-Dade and Mardi Gras in Broward — have large casinos with slot machines. The others operate card rooms.

Allowing them to keep operating lucrative card rooms while halting races could potentially mean the end of greyhound racing in Florida.

State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, called the gambling deal “substantial” and said it addressed many of the big ideas that had been the source of an impasse between the House gambling bill and the Senate one.

The deal does contain a couple of catches. County referendums would be required in order to end greyhound, harness, quarter horse and some thoroughbred races and begin designated player games.

The Senate plan called for two new casinos in either Broward or MiamiDade County. The House plan calls for one casino in Miami-Dade.

The Seminole Tribe, which owns casinos near Hollywood and in Coconut Creek, wanted to discourage more competition in Broward.

A lot of work still remains for gambling negotiators. The House and Senate are still far apart on blackjack and slot machines.

The Senate wants to allow blackjack at parimutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with slots in any county where voters approve them. Eight counties outside Broward and MiamiDade, including Palm Beach County, have already done so.

The original House bill allows none of that, and the House’s counteroffer Wednesday keeps those positions.

“It’s quite a contrast to where the House was just a few days ago,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, the Senate’s chief negotiator. “One of the big issues that remains is the authorization of slots in the referendum counties.”