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Rick Scott says legislative inaction on Compact will cost jobs

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If lawmakers fail to act on the Seminole Compact, the Tribe will pursue its own nuclear option, laying off 3,700 workers statewide at its casinos, Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday. The governor spoke to reporters after a meeting of the Florida Cabinet. “My responsibility was to work to get a compact done,” he said. “My team put together a very good Compact for the citizens of our state. It’s up to the Legislature to make their decision on what they…

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Seminole Tribe “weighs in” with another pro-Compact ad

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Another week brings another television ad from the Seminole Tribe of Florida touting its new proposed gaming Compact with the state. The latest 30-second spot, titled “The Senate Weighs In,” highlights that a key Senate panel cleared the new agreement but that it still must be passed by the full Legislature. With less than three weeks in the 2016 Legislative Session, the tribe is feeling the crunch. The Compact is worth $3 billion over seven years in revenue share to the state,…

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Steve Crisafulli contends Seminole Compact needs “changes”

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House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said the proposed Seminole Compact will need “changes” if it’s to be approved this Legislative Session. Crisafulli, a Merritt Island Republican, spoke with reporters Tuesday night after a late House floor session. “We’re certainly focused on what details that bill can have in it that would work for this body,” he said, referring to the Compact. “And then we have to have a discussion at some point with our Senate partners to see if there is something…

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Rick Scott and Seminole Tribe begin PR effort for new blackjack deal

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Gov. Rick Scott and Seminole Tribe of Florida representatives on Monday earnestly began a hard sell of a new deal that would let the tribe keep blackjack at their casinos. Scott met with Tribal Chairman Jim Billie, other tribal leaders and gambling operations executives in South Florida in a meeting that was live-streamed on the Internet. They’re all trying to convince skeptical lawmakers to approve a new Seminole Compact that’s worth $3 billion over seven years in revenue share to the state,…

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Senate starts dissecting new Seminole blackjack deal

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The votes against a new Indian gambling agreement started piling up Wednesday, as senators verbally shellacked Gov. Rick Scott’s policy guru about the terms of the deal. The Regulated Industries Committee, oversees the state’s gambling industry, held a workshop on the Seminole Compact, with Scott policy director Jeff Woodburn acting as point man to formally present the details. No vote was taken. After sometimes withering questioning from South Florida GOP Sens. Anitere Flores and Democratic Sen. Gwen Margolis, committee Chairman Rob…

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State of the State: Bill Galvano “surprised” at no mention of Seminole Compact

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Senate Republican Leader Bill Galvano on Tuesday said he was “surprised” that Gov. Rick Scott made no mention of a new deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that would allow them to keep offering blackjack at their casinos. “It is what it is,” he said. “I think everybody involved in the process around that issue is skeptical we’ll be able to get it through.” The new deal could drive hundreds of millions of dollars into the state treasury, money…

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2016 Legislative Food Fights: Seminole Compact faces skeptical Legislature

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The back-and-forth and backroom dealing is over, and lawmakers soon will publicly comb through the new blackjack deal between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The 63-page document revived the old joke around the Capitol: It contains something for everyone … to hate. And that means the tribe’s lobbyists will be working double-time to get some version of it through The Process.  Last year’s lobby team kept a relatively low profile: Emily Buckley, Gus Corbella, Hayden and Angela Dempsey, Fred Dickinson, Charles…

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