Blog: Deadline looms on Seminole gaming deal

Thursday, August 6, 2009  

The Seminole Tribe faces an August 31 deadline to reach a Class III gaming compact with the state of Florida.

But what happens to the tribe's Class III games if the deadline passes without an agreement? Could the National Indian Gaming Commission order the tribe to stop offering blackjack and table games?

"A range of things that could happen, but we don't prematurely make that call," Cindy Shaw, NIGC's chief of staff, told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The tribe previously signed a compact that was invalidated by the state courts. But it had already been approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs by that time.

If the deadline passes, the tribe will ask the Interior Department for approval to keep offering Class III games.

Get the Story:
Broward Politics: Will federal marshals shut down Seminole blackjack tables? (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 8/5)