A flurry of pro-casino activity has erupted in several southern US states, although much of it is expected to fail, at least initially.
In Florida, the state House of Representatives Regulatory Affairs Committee began discussion of HB 1233, Majority Leader Dana Young’s sweeping gambling overhaul proposal. The bill, which would allow construction of two integrated resort casinos, was discussed for four hours on Thursday but committee members declined to put the bill to a vote.
Committee chairman Jose Felix Diaz said the group wouldn’t discuss the bill again for another two weeks, which will leave just two weeks left in the current legislative session. Young claimed not to be bothered, telling the Tampa Bay Times that gaming bills “never come up until the last couple days of session.” (Perhaps that’s why they never pass.)
Meanwhile, a state Senate committee continues to negotiate with the Seminole Tribe over a renewal of its tribal gaming compact, a portion of which expires this year. State economists have projected Florida could lose out on $822m over the next five years if it fails to renew the tribe’s monopoly on blackjack and other house-banked card games. The tribe has another 15 years left on its slots monopoly outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where the two proposed integrated resorts would be located.
