Column: NIGC asks Seminole Tribe about Class III

Thursday, October 9, 2008  

"The biggest casino of all — Wall Street — is crumbling and our 401(k)s have become 201(k)s, but the chips keep flying at the blackjack and baccarat tables at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

Three months after the Florida Supreme Court ruled Gov. Charlie Crist didn't have the authority to sign a gambling compact without legislative approval, the Seminoles haven't tabled the table games or slots.

Instead of closing the disputed games, which is what Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum wants, the tribe might soon open blackjack tables at its other casinos, including Coconut Creek and Seminole Casino Hollywood, known by locals as Hollywood Classic

At a gambling industry conference at the Hard Rock on Tuesday, tribal attorneys said they consider the compact valid.

The tribe has been given a soft Oct. 17 deadline by the National Indian Gaming Commission to express "its intentions regarding the continued play or discontinuation of Class III gaming."

In a Sept. 25 letter, the commission requested "a detailed legal explanation and analysis" from the tribe.

In an Oct. 4 letter to McCollum, the commission said it was "still studying" his request for a temporary closure order. Commission attorney Penny Coleman noted the state Supreme Court "did not specifically declare the [compact] ... invalid.""

Get the Story:
Michael Mayo: Don't bet against Seminoles in high-stakes battle (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 10/9)
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