The Three Ring Circus Comes to Tallahassee

Florida Legislators returned to Tallahassee March 3^rd for the 2015 session.  One of the main topics and tasks is the casino and racino discussion. The legislators were met with a 323 page bill regarding gaming. 

Center Ring – Center ring hosts the best act, the premiere event of the day. The main event in 2015 is the compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Indian Tribe. I’ve included the two other Indian Tribes in this event. This is the big show, the one everyone is waiting for, yet everyone is pretending it doesn’t matter, there are other gaming matters to deal with. Let’s get real. The Seminole Tribe is arguably the most powerful gaming entities in the U.S. It is the most powerful in Florida. Throw in the Hard Rock ownership and you have one of the strongest and best casino companies in the world. The Seminole Tribe is a great asset to Florida.

The Seminole dominance is noted in sheer numbers. Their Florida casinos have an estimated 11,779 slots, the seven racinos combined have 7,066. The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida has 1,700 slots.  The Seminoles currently have exclusive rights in Florida to house-banked card games like blackjack and baccarat.

The situation is that the Seminoles signed a 20-year agreement with the Florida to have banked card gaming with a renewal provision each five years.  In return for having exclusive rights for banked cards at their casinos the Seminoles would pay and have paid at least one billion dollars over the five years. The first five years is up July 31, 2015 unless the Legislators approve a renewal or revision which will have to be negotiated with Governor Scott. Florida Legislators are taking a maybe-maybe not stance, and maybe we should allow destination resort casinos and more racinos in the state. Bob Jarvis, professor of gambling law at Nova Southern University in Fort Lauderdale says he believes the lawmakers are bluffing…and he believes a new Seminole deal will get done.

Alongside the mighty Seminole Tribe in the Center Ring is second Federally Recognized Tribe in Florida, the Miccosukee and their single casino operation. They provide an excellent casino resort to South Florida and Dade County.

Standing just outside the center ring is a third Florida Tribe, the Muscogee Nation of Florida located in the Florida panhandle with headquarters in Walton County. Muscogee Nation is awaiting findings on their petition for Federal Recognition.  The Office of Federal Acknowledgement will publish their findings on or before April 30, 2015…a few weeks from today. Their territory delineated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the panhandle area from the Escambia River to the Tallahassee area of Florida.

This Center Ring is the core of Florida Casino gaming and needs to be recognized as the main event.

The Second Ring – Florida currently has seven racinos; casinos paired with para-mutual facilities in Dade and Broward Counties.  Of the seven, four are thoroughbred horse racing, two are greyhound racing and one with jai-alai fronton pairing.  Para-mutual Facilities in Florida are allowed to offer poker, those in Dade and Broward Counties can have slot machines. There are apparently a number of provisions in the proposed 2015 gaming legislation to de-couple the para-mutual business from the casino business, the dream of every dog track in Florida; to reduce the tax rate paid by the racinos; to allow one or two destination resort companies such as Las Vegas Sands or Genting to establish large casino resorts in South Florida, and more.

First, the horse tracks.  I’ll admit, I like the ponies.  And I like the four thoroughbred racino facilities in Florida. Each one has the land and financial capacity to become a destination resort. Each one does a magnificent job with their casino and racing. Going forward it appears each of the four horse track casino facilities will expand its footprint. Plans are published at Hialeah and Gulfstream and on the drawing boards at Calder and Pompano Park. Each has large developable property as part of their current facility. Each of the four has ownership capacity to finance and fund expansion to be regional or destination resorts. Let’s let these four be given the opportunity to become your South Florida gaming future.

How to address the plight of jai-alai and greyhound business? Tough love again….don’t reward people or businesses who make bad business decisions.  

Third Ring – Bring in the clowns. Yes, this circus does have clowns. The Poarch Creek Indians of Alabama have put forth efforts to “take over” the North Florida casino and racino business.

Their first effort was to have barrel racing declared a para-mutual event. In 2011 the Florida State Department of Business and Professional Regulation effectively created a new rule regarding what constitutes a horse race without going through the necessary rule-making process. The Poarch Creek Tribe responded by promoting their new status at the Gretna Fair Grounds as a site for a future Florida casino. The Thoroughbred horse owners Association of Florida sued and the judge ruled against the poarch, that barrel racing is not a para-mutual event. The Poarch appealed and in 2014 the 1^st District Court of Appeals ruled against the Poarch Tribe again.

Their second effort is ongoing. A February 28, 2015 Associated Press article stated, “Poarch Creek may sell marijuana if Florida denies gambling deal.  Rebuffed by Governor Scott, the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, a small Alabama-based Indian tribe, wants to expand its gambling operations into the Sunshine State…The Alabama-based tribe is suggesting it might adopt a hardball stance: let us have gambling in a few Florida locations, or we could consider growing and selling marijuana on our [Florida] property.”

The tribe owns a one-acre tract of land in northeastern Escambia County of Florida. Governor Scott’s legal office responded to the Tribe that it was premature to begin negotiations and that the Tribe needs additional recognition from federal officials.

Tamales, T-Bones, Tunica and Tough Love

Our most recent tour of casino and racino tour covered Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas:

Tamales and T-Bones  – The tamale trail is a part of the Mississippi Delta Blues country where the blues and tamales are a part of the culture. So in addition to a review of casinos and racinos, we decided to take in some of the culture and history of the area between Tunica and Vicksburg, Mississippi. From An Introduction: Hot Tamales and the Mississippi Delta: “Many hypothesize that tamales made their way to the Mississippi Delta in the early 20^th century when migrant laborers were brought in from Mexico to work the cotton harvest.  The African Americans who shared the fields easily recognized the basic ingredients: corn meal and pork.”    

Traveling from the Tunica casino area south, a visit to the Tunica Museum will get you off to a good start. Following our tour of the museum we asked for their recommendation for a good local restaurant and were directed to the Blue and White, a converted Pure Oil gas station.  Originally built in 1937.  Tamales - ok; catfish sandwiches - outstanding; atmosphere - local.  Next stop heading south on Highway 61: Clarksdale and the Delta Blues Museum.  Across the street from the museum is the Ground Zero Blues Club, co-owned by Morgan Freeman.  The Club features performances by both local and national blues bands….and great hot tamales.  Be sure to ask the waitress for the real, corn husk tamales, not the appetizer tamales.  

Our next stop was in Greenville at Harlow’s Casino and Hotel for an overnight stay.  We had dinner at the famous Doe’s Eat Place a few miles from Harlow’s.  Best to dress in your flannel shirt, jeans and baseball cap.  Be prepared to order steak, although they do have tamales on the menu. But you should really be ready to order their large T-Bone steak. They have beer available, but if you want wine, you can bring your own. We were seated in the kitchen area overlooking the preparation of fries and pounding of salad lettuce.  It’s definitely worth the experience. Harlow’s was a great stay, a very clean hotel with a well-managed and lively casino owned by Churchill Downs.

Tunica and Tough Love – Everyone following the casino world is aware of the decline in casino and hotel revenues in the 9 casino Tunica area.  Each time I review the area we stay at one of the nine. This time it was the Roadhouse Casino and Hotel -- a confusing mix of an old English Tudor exterior design with a Willie Nelson interior with whiskey barrels and barn wood walls. It was a cold February night when we arrived, wind blowing…quite miserable.  Parking was a mess so you couldn’t park near the place.  Once inside the casino area we discovered quiet.  Their motto is “If you don’t like noise, come on in.”  But the quiet was a result of few patrons, other than a handful of slot players and one blackjack table active.  The restaurant was closed. The only food available was microwaved chicken wings and frozen burgers.  Even more depressing was the hotel room.  A nice bathroom and jacuzzi area surrounded by a filthy carpet with 3-foot diameter stains. The crown moulding above the curtain was falling down from water leakage. The dresser and cabinet drawers were wide open and wouldn’t close. In simple terms, a dump. I provided the check-out hostess with my feelings and business card, but haven’t heard from anyone.  So here’s my tough love to the Roadhouse: It’s frankly an embarrassment to the Tunica Casino industry. Note: We’ll see if it's still open at the end of 2015.