by: Gene Koprowski.
Florida's historic Hialeah Park racetrack
is poised to make a comeback, the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock casinos is
going to keep its slot machines and card games.
And South Florida's pari-mutuels will bear a lower tax burden. Tracks around the state will be allowed to seek bingo-style slot machines in the future.
These are the major provisions of a last-minute compromise reached this week by House and Senate leaders. If approved by the Seminole Tribe, the proposals will bring the state a minimum of $150 million in annual revenue sharing from the Seminole Tribe, and enable the state to use another $150 million set aside by the tribe this year when its previous gambling agreement with the governor was voided by the court.
''This is a victory for the children of Florida and education,'' said Gov. Charlie Crist, who must now renegotiate a pact with the tribe under the new legislative guidelines, and then have it approved by lawmakers.
Will the Seminole Tribe take the deal?
''There's a great possibility of that,'' the governor said. “I mean, I want to be respectful of their opportunity to have a chance to talk to their members. But it looks like the parameters -- from what I've heard -- are very good.”
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