"It's clear now. Florida won't allow a bunch of Indians to corrupt innocent gamblers with the likes of blackjack.

Not for $100 million a year.

But how about $200 million? Or $300 million? If the Seminole Tribe whispers $350 million, will unwavering moral standards begin wavering?

Marco Rubio, with a bit of help from the Florida Supreme Court Thursday, managed to undo Gov. Charlie Crist's gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe. The deal would have allowed the tribe to install Vegas-style slot machines in its casinos. And, for a guaranteed $100 million a year, the Seminoles would be allowed exotic table games: blackjack, pai gow, baccarat, mini baccarat, three-card poker and Let it Ride.

House Speaker Rubio's lawyers convinced the justices that when the governor made this deal, he not only bypassed the Legislature, he bypassed his constitutional authority. But Rubio insisted that the real reason he was dead set against the compact was because it fomented ``an expansion of gambling.''

Somehow, the blackjack table seems a quaint place to take a stand against gambling.

Florida happily takes a cut from slot machines, poker tables, horse racing, jai-alai and the lottery. The state just announced it was teaming up with 29 other states to offer Powerball, the lottery game with giant jackpots and odds as long as Dick Cheney's chance of landing the Nobel Peace Prize."

Get the Story:
Fred Grimm: Gambling laws about money, not morality (The Miami Herald 7/6)

Another Opinion:
We think: Crist should work with legislators on gambling (The Orlando Sentinel 7/7)