State lawmakers form a committee to renegotiate a gaming compact with the Seminole Indian tribe, which runs several casinos in Florida.

 

A pact the tribe signed with the governor was ruled invalid earlier this year by the Florida Supreme Court. It called for $100 million annual payments by the tribe to the state.

 

Florida CFO Alex Sink realizes that means the state is losing a lot of money, while the gambling goes on.

"It's an opportunity for the state to get $300 million to help us close this $2.2 billion deficit that we have," she pointed out.

 

Manatee County lawmaker Bill Galvano will head up the panel of lawmakers.

 

"It can't be driven solely by fiscal incentive," he said.

 

He wants to hammer out what the future relationship will be between the branches of government (legislative, administrative and judicial) "and how we deal with this type of thing in the future."

 

Adding to the conversation are voices from South Florida gaming entities. The pari-mutuel betting tracks that are allowed slot machines and poker say they want a fair deal so they can compete with the tribe.

 

Revenues are down 22 percent at Broward County dog and horse tracks, according to Dan Adkins, CEO of Mardi Gras Gaming in Hollywood.

 

Voters fought ballot initiatives in 1978, 1986 and 1994 designed to legalize casino gambling in Florida, but there have been repeated attempts to expand gambling.