Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaMarch 2, 2018

The House and Senate gambling bills were heard separately Friday, but one lawmaker already is folding his hand. “The chances of a gaming bill passing this session are none,” said Rep. Joe Abruzzo, a Boynton Beach Democrat. “Let’s go home.” A strike-all amendment had been OK’d on the Senate’s legislation (SB 840) in the Appropriations […]

Jim RosicaMarch 1, 2018

A strike-all amendment planned for the Senate’s 2018 gambling bill will add an authorization for slot machines in counties where voters OK’d them in local referendums, Senate President-designate Bill Galvano said Thursday. The Senate bill (SB 840) is now slated for consideration before the Appropriations Committee Friday. Galvano, a Bradenton Republican, is the Senate’s lead […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 22, 2018

Danielle Babilino will become senior vice president of global sales and marketing for Seminole Tribe-controlled Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, the company announced Thursday. Babilino was most recently executive vice president of sales and marketing for Alon Las Vegas, the proposed luxury hotel and casino on the Strip. She now will have “overall responsibility for the […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 22, 2018

A bill to ban pre-reveal games, slot machine-style entertainment consoles, was rescued Thursday in a procedural move after it initially failed on a tie vote. The measure (HB 1367) now is available for the floor after a subsequent motion in the House Commerce Committee to reconsider the bill won the day. The pre-reveal concept has […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 22, 2018

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is airing an ad in the Tallahassee market urging passage of a new gambling deal between the Tribe and the state. But with lawmakers saying their “bandwidth” has been sapped by a fight over the 2018-19 budget and by a legislative response to the Broward County high school shooting, it’s […]

Staff ReportsFebruary 14, 2018

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“Leave it be until Amendment 3,” says a new ad from the group behind a constitutional amendment on voter control of gambling expansion that will be on November’s statewide ballot. Voters In Charge, the political committee backing the Voter Control of Gambling Amendment, on Wednesday announced “a 30-second television ad, a 60-second radio ad, as […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 12, 2018

Sen. Travis Hutson says he believes “there’s a way for us to get there” when asked about gambling legislation finally passing the Legislature this year. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax on Monday unanimously approved his 90-page rewrite of the Senate’s gaming bill (SB 840) for 2018. It now includes a House provision: A renewed 20-year […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 12, 2018

The Senate made some big moves Friday in the annual legislative dance that is the negotiation for an omnibus gambling bill. The biggest move: The chamber now includes a renewed 20-year deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida for $3 billion in revenue over seven years in return for exclusive rights to blackjack and slot […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 8, 2018

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As owners of the state’s dog and horse tracks fret over a legislative deal this year, House Speaker Richard Corcoran on Thursday didn’t back down from his position that there be “an absolute contraction” of gambling in the state. But he also didn’t make clear what a “contraction” actually looks like, and whether that could […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 8, 2018

Lawmakers, take note: More than three-quarters of likely Florida voters favor a proposed state constitutional amendment “that would require voter approval to authorize casino gambling in the state,” according to poll results released Thursday. A ballot question will be before voters in November as Amendment 3, or the Voter Control of Gambling amendment. “When initially asked […]

Tag: Seminole Tribe of Florida

Sucker bet? Gambling bills on the move in both chambers

Reanimated: Senate gambling bill, with changes, back in play

Personnel note: Danielle Babilino joins Hard Rock in Florida

Pre-reveal games ban barely survives in House

Seminole Tribe ad is a Hail Mary for a gambling deal

‘Leave it be’: New ad for gambling initiative out

Double or nothing? Senate gambling bill clears latest panel

Ante up: Senate files new 90-page gambling bill

On Richard Corcoran, gambling and third-graders

Poll: 76 percent support constitutional amendment on gambling