Florida court hears Seminole compact lawsuit

The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a lawsuit over the legality of the Seminole Tribe's Class III gaming compact

The tribe reached the deal with Gov. Charlie Crist (R). It authorizes slot machines and certain card games for an exchange of the revenues.

Republican lawmakers claim Crist exceeded his authority. While voters have legalized slot machines, the card games are still illegal, they say.

According to The Miami Herald, the justices appeared to question the validity of the compact. But it's unclear what would happen if they reject it, since the federal government has already approved it. The tribe started running 800 slot machines at one of its casinos on Monday.

Get the Story:
Justices question validity of Crist-Seminole pact (The Miami Herald 1/31)
Seminole gaming tug-of-war in Supreme Court's hands (The St. Petersburg Times 1/31)
Florida Supreme Court asked to decide on gambling compact with Seminoles (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 1/31)
Attorneys argue gambling deal before Supreme Court (The Tallahassee Democrat 1/31)
Court Hears Gambling Dispute (AP 1/31)