"Take the money and run, says state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla of Miami.

The Seminoles' latest proposed casino-gambling deal, blessed by Gov. Charlie Crist, offers the state a quickie save during these tough times. It's fast cash in a slumbering economy. It's also bad policy.

Crist, who happened to be at Riverside Elementary in Little Havana on Thursday, has told legislators the money from the gambling compact should go for education. Roll the dice, kiddies, it's all going to the public schools.

Yeah, we've seen that shell game before.

Don't blame the Seminoles. They're shrewd business people, offering to front-load their gambling payments to Florida from a couple hundred million dollars a year to $1.1 billion over two years. In exchange for that windfall, the Legislature would have to give the OK for the Seminoles to continue to operate the Hard Rock Casinos' blackjack tables and pump up five other tribe-run gambling joints throughout Florida with the more lucrative Class III slot machines.

And for those seven other non-Indian gambling establishments at horse tracks and other parimutuels in Miami-Dade and Broward, the lawmakers could reduce the current 50 percent tax to 35 percent. They could open 24-7, even offering free drinks to attract the younger crowds, joining the abuelitos with their senior-citizen discounts. What the heck, raise the poker limits, too.

It's all in an effort to be fair to the non-Indian establishments that pay state taxes when the Seminole Tribe, as a sovereign nation, doesn't have that same obligation."

Get the Story:
Myriam Marquez: Seminoles' offer is tempting but is bad in the long run (The Miami Herald 4/24)