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Compacts | Opinion
Editorial: Approve compact with Seminole Tribe


"We used to hunt deer for a living; now we hunt deals for a living," Max B. Osceola Jr. told the Tallahassee Democrat's editorial board Tuesday. He was describing today's premier enterprises of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, in which he serves as a tribal councilman representing Hollywood.

A deal struck last year between the Seminole Tribe and Gov. Charlie Crist to expand gambling in the Seminole Nation casinos is, however, an invigorating boon for the state of Florida.

It's a deal that the Florida Legislature should hasten to endorse so it can move on to governing decisions that are far less obvious and beneficial to the state.

If the gambling compact goes forward, as it should, the state could net as much as $100 million a year for the next 25 years — that's $2.5 billion. It would immediately get a payment of $288 million that's been held in escrow since the Florida Supreme Court ruled last year that the governor did not have unilateral authority to sign the deal. The court did not rule on the merits of the pact, nor on any larger issues of gambling as an activity, ruling only that the Legislature had to sign off on it."

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Our Opinion: Ratify the compact (The Tallahassee Democrat 34/)