Compacts | Public Relations

Seminole Tribe drops motion after gaming revenues published

Friday, May 13, 2016

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Photo from Facebook

The Seminole Tribe of Florida withdrew its request for a protective court order after information about its gaming operation was published by the Politico news organization.

The information comes from a deposition of James Allen, the chief executive officer of Seminole Gaming. In it, he disclosed that the tribe's gaming enterprise generated $2.2 billion in revenues in 2015, according to Politico.

"Total revenues last year between 2.4 and 2.5 billion,” Allen said during the deposition, Politico reported. Of that amount, $2.2 billion was from gaming, according to Politico.

The transcript of the deposition was inadvertently released by the state in response to a public records request. The tribe wasn't informed so it didn't have a chance to determine whether the document contained any trade secret or confidential data.

The release of the transcript went against a confidentiality agreement that the tribe and the state signed in March. The agreement is part of a lawsuit in which the tribe alleges the state has failed to negotiate a Class III gaming compact in "good faith" as required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The case is set to go to trial in October.

Get the Story:
Unredacted deposition reveals $2.2B in Seminole gambling revenue last year (Politico 5/13)
Politico publishes 'trade secret' details so Seminole Tribe calls off emergency hearing (The Tampa Bay Times 5/13)