Gambling Compact Bounced From Committee; Setback for Crist, LeMieux

In yet another demonstration of Charlie Crist's plummeting stock in the state Republican Party, a legislative committee has rejected the compact his office hammered out with the Seminole Tribe last year that would have allowed the Seminoles to keep theirLas Vegas-style games in exchange for annual payments to the state,...

By Thomas Francis

January 14, 2010

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In yet another demonstration of Charlie Crist's plummeting stock in the state Republican Party, a legislative committee has rejected the compact his office hammered out with the Seminole Tribe last year that would have allowed the Seminoles to keep theirLas Vegas-style games in exchange for annual payments to the state, amounting to $6.8 billion over 20 years.

The rejection by Florida House's Select Committee on Indian Compact Review is also a political blow for Sen. George LeMieux, the Broward Republican who dealt with the Seminoles in his capacity as Crist's former chief of staff, then as a pro bono state negotiator. LeMieux's previous effort at a compact was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court.

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