The Seminole tribe is balking at terms of a gambling deal set by the Florida Legislature, objecting to provisions it says could increase costs and competition.

Billions of dollars in funding for public schools is on the line at a time of severe budget deficits.The key sticking points, tribe attorney Barry Richard said Thursday: an increase in the tribe’s annual payment to the state — to $150million — and a provision dealing with the exclusive right of the Seminoles to offer blackjack and slot machines outside South Florida.

Legislators, who approved the gambling deal in May, built in wiggle room for future gambling expansion. Voters or legislators could give racetracks or other facilities games similar to those offered at tribal casinos, without voiding the state’s deal with the Seminoles.

And even if new competition cropped up, the tribe still would be required to make payments, albeit at a potentially reduced rate.
“I feel firmly that the tribe couldn’t live with it, and the [federal] Department of Interior wouldn’t approve it,” said Richard, referring to federal regulators who oversee state-tribal negotiations. The annual minimum payment, an increase over the $100 million negotiated by Gov. Charlie Crist and the tribe in 2007, also “throws the economics out of whack,” he said.

Richard said he hoped representatives from the Legislature, the Governor’s Office and the tribe would negotiate new terms.

“We’re hopeful we can correct those things and send it back,” Richard said. “Hopefully we can come up with something that everyone will be happy with.”

The 15-year, $2.3billion gambling deal crafted by top legislators is now on the governor’s desk, awaiting his signature. After Crist signs the bill, as expected, the tribe and Governor’s Office have until Aug.31 to finalize the details under the parameters set by the Legislature. Then, the Legislature would meet in special session to ratify the final language.

The bill gives the tribe blackjack, baccarat and other table games at two Hard Rock resorts in Hollywood and Tampa, as well as two other casinos in Broward County. Three Seminole casinos elsewhere in the state would be limited to slots.

Reaching a gambling deal not only has major financial implications for education funding but also is atop Crist’s list of accomplishments as governor. Now a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, Crist spent months pressuring the Legislature to sign off on blackjack at Seminole resorts, after the state Supreme Court tossed out his original 2007 deal with the tribe.

“I think we’ll come to a resolution,” said George Lemieux, Crist’s former chief of staff, who negotiated the original deal. “My experience has been the Seminoles are extremely professional in these negotiations.”

The tribe’s spokesman, Gary Bitner, said the Seminoles wouldn’t add to Richard’s comments until negotiations resume with the governor. “There’s no date set for that,” he said.

But trying to force changes on a Legislature dominated by Republicans reluctant to embrace gambling is politically treacherous.

The leading legislator on the issue, Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said overhauling the gambling deal is not an option. He said the $150million minimum is reasonable, given how much the tribe has expanded its gambling operations.

Rather than reopen the gambling discussions, Galvano said he’d advocate a hardball route if the tribe balks at the Legislature’s deal: lobbying the federal government to enforce the state’s current gambling laws, which ban blackjack. The tribe continues to offer the games at several casinos, including Hard Rock, under a legal cloud.