There is one month left before Florida Governor Charlie Crist and the Seminole Indians have to reach a gaming compact, but any deal that benefits the state could go south if blackjack and other Class III card games are removed from the tribe’s Immokalee casino.

If tribal leaders reject the state’s compact guidelines—which mandate the removal of the games—they could appeal for approval to the federal government, which would cut state government right out of the minimum of $2.3 billion it would receive from the casinos over a 15-year term.

The tribe first agreed to pay $100 million annually in a 2007 deal made directly with Crist. That deal was undone a year later by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that Crist did not have the authority to broker the deal without approval from the Florida legislature. Lawmakers then redrafted the guidelines. The pending compact requires a minimum of $150 million in annual payments and bans banked card games at three of seven Seminole casinos: Immokalee, Big Cypress and Brighton.

State Rep. Matt Hudson said the tribe will never sign off on the deal as it now stands, particularly since Chairman Mitchell Cypress lives on the Big Cypress reservation.

“The reality is this is a business decision—it’s a business decision that doesn’t work out for all of them,” Hudson told the Naples News.

The Seminoles also want exclusive rights to Class III games in the state, and the current compact holds no guarantees. One provision could permit banked card games in Miami-Dade and Broward County parimutuels, which already offer Vegas-style slots. In that case, the tribe would still have to make its annual payment, although the sum would be lowered.
 

Barry Richard, the tribe’s attorney, has been quoted as saying the lack of exclusivity will force the tribe to reject the deal.

Crist has until August 31 to reach a deal with the tribe. Meantime, a concerned Hudson, who voted against the compact guidelines, said he hopes negotiations reopen and the Immokalee issue is reexamined.