Florida Agrees $3.1 Billion Contract with Seminoles

Florida governor Rick Scott hails the greatest tribal rev-sharing in history as dispute with Seminoles is put to bed.
The Seminole Tribe’s political standoff with Florida governor Rick Scott was finally resolved this week following a deal which will see the Seminoles pay $3.1 billion towards the state over seven years in return for the right to offer craps and roulette.
It is thought to be the biggest tribal rev-share agreement in the usa, dwarfing the cut received by the state beneath the terms of the agreement that is previous.
Florida inked a deal utilizing the Seminoles this season which offered the tribe exclusivity on blackjack in the state in return for $1 billion, spread over five years.
The deal additionally prevented the expansion of slots gambling beyond that which already existed at a handful of pari-mutuel racetracks, providing the Seminoles a stranglehold on the slots market.
This agreement expired on August 1 this year, and the two parties have been negotiating from the time.
No Expansion for 20 Years
The Seminoles, who own seven properties in the Sunshine State, will be prohibited from expanding their operations for an interval of twenty years. And while gaining the right to offer craps and roulette, the tribal operator will relinquish its monopoly on blackjack and slots.
This allows the expansion of blackjack into the Miami-Dade and Broward racinos and as much as 750 slots at other venues such as the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
‘The lightweight itself is a good deal for their state of Florida and it’s also my hope that you will consider providing it a vote into the Florida Senate and the Florida House during the regular 2016 session or at the time you imagine is most suitable,’ wrote Scott in a letter to home Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner.
‘ With a $3 billion guarantee along with a cap on the tribe’s video gaming, it really is my hope that this lightweight can end up being the foundation of a stable and gaming that is predictable for hawaii of Florida.’
‘Good Deal for the Taxpayer’
However, the deal still needs legislative approval, and there may be dissenting voices among lawmakers.
‘In its current form, this agreement would significantly expand gambling both on and off tribal property so we cannot help it,’ said John Sowinski, president of the No Casinos expansion that is anti-gambling, who said he’ll be asking lawmakers to reject the lightweight.
State Sen. Rob Bradley, chairman of the Regulated Industries committee that oversees gambling, meanwhile, said that he felt this was ‘a good deal for the taxpayer’ and one that would ‘provide cash for healthcare, transportation, education and other core services. while he was no fan of gambling expansion’
University Football Playoff Semifinals Open in Las Vegas, Alabama and Oklahoma Favored
The College Football Playoff is set, four groups vying to reach Phoenix and the National Championship title game on 11 january. (Image: espn.com)
The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee has paired number 1 Clemson (13-0) against #4 Oklahoma (11-1) and #2 Alabama (12-1) against number 3 Michigan State (12-1) to choose who will compete for the National Championship on January 11.
Both games that are semifinal be played on New Year’s Eve.
Your choice was rather simple for those in charge of picking the last four teams.
College football has five ‘power conferences,’ but each united team within the Pac-12 had at the least two losses, meaning the remaining four seminar champions got the nod for the CFP.
Selecting Clemson through the ACC, Alabama from the SEC, the Big Ten’s Michigan State, and Big 12’s Oklahoma was rather predictable.
The thing that wasn’t predictable is how Las Vegas responded.
no. 1 Clemson Underdog
The Clemson Tigers have been the college that is top-ranked program in the country since beating then #16 Florida State in early November.
That they had previously beaten a top 10 Notre Dame team, and ended the season that is regular Saturday with a 45-37 win over #10 North Carolina to claim the ACC title.
Clemson ran the table to perfection, but Vegas is stilln’t convinced.
Oklahoma launched as being a 2.5-point favorite over the Tigers despite being the lower ranked team. That’s because many football analysts do not believe they’re lower ranked in talent.
In fact, the Sooners are one of, if not the hottest teams in NCAA football. Their last three games consisted of beating #6 Baylor, #18 TCU, and #11 Oklahoma Sate.
By all projections, the Tigers and Sooners clash will be neck and neck, the eventual winner most likely resting on the arms and legs of quarterbacks Deshaun Watson of Clemson and Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma, two leading Heisman candidates.
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney celebrated his team’s seeding by throwing a pizza that is massive for 30,000 fans on Sunday at Memorial Stadium. ‘ I do not know what happened at the other three schools, but I doubt it was similar to this,’ Swinney said.
Alabama Being Alabama
The team that is only to the CFP is the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nick Saban is chasing his fourth National Championship with Alabama since taking over in 2007.
It’s never ever smart to bet against a squad that is saban-led that will be why the first cash has been greatly placed in favor of Alabama over Michigan State.
The same as final year, Alabama has opened as a favorite that is nine-point. Saban is hoping that unlike last 12 months, the Tide rolls instead of loses as it did to Ohio State in 2014.
Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio and Saban have actually more in common than just coaching against one another on December 31.
Saban really hired Dantonio when he was the head mentor of Michigan State in 1995.
‘we would not be in this place as a mind advisor had I not been afforded the opportunity to come to Michigan State by Nick,’ Dantonio said within the weekend. ‘He’s a mentor.’
That doesn’t mean Dantonio doesn’t want to crush his boss that is former the job are hard.
Michigan State’s celebrity quarterback Connor Cook is still battling an injured throwing shoulder, and MSU can also be only in the place it is thanks up to a fluke last-second play against Michigan in October.
Greyhound Trainer Cheat Imprisoned in Landmark UK Trial
Chris Mosdell, the trainer that is greyhound admitted to race-fixing and drugging his dogs on digital camera. (Image: bbc.co.uk)
A greyhound trainer in the UK has been handed a jail phrase after he admitted on digital camera that he drugged his dogs in order to fix events.
Chris Mosdall, a trainer during the Wimbledon Stadium dog track in South western London was filmed by undercover reporters for the BBC’s Panorama current affairs program boasting that he’d been getting away because of the scam for ten years, during which time he had pocketed £150,000 in winnings from rigged bets.
Mosdall told the Panorama research that he drugged dogs in their care with the antihistamine cyclyzine, despite being mindful of the possible wellness potential risks.
He explained that he’d wait a couple of months before doping a dog for a time that is second as not to ‘burn her kidneys out.’
The situation has prompted animal liberties groups to call for stricter governmental controls over the racing that is greyhound, which is largely self-regulated.
‘Biggest Crook in Wimbledon’
‘on the pretext of buying a dog from him and were fitted with concealed cameras if you get caught you’re out the door, but you take your chance,’ Mosdall told the undercover reporters, who had approached him. He later bragged about being the ‘biggest crook in Wimbledon.’
The Panorama tapes formed the bulk of the evidence utilized to convict Mosdall, but doping that is subsequent came up positive on two of eight dogs tested by authorities.
The trial was significant since it is the that an instance had been brought by the united kingdom Gambling Commission against someone suspected of cheating the betting markets. It’s believed its success will pave the real method for further prosecutions.
Strikes in the centre of Gambling
‘This case shows that under the 2005 Gambling Act, cheating is treated as a serious offense which can attract a custodial phrase and punishment beyond any sanction applied by the Independent Disciplinary Committee of the GBGB,’ a Greyhound Board of good Britain spokesman told the Racing Post.
Judge Peter Lodder QC sentenced Mosdall to four and a months that are half.
‘You knew all too well that [fixing races] strikes at the very heart of gambling,’ said Lodder. ‘Ordinary gamblers have entitlement to assume they will have a reasonable possibility and to assume that gambling areas are available and board that is above. Your behavior corrupts the procedure and significantly damages that trust.’
By doping, or ‘stopping,’ his or her own dogs, Mosdall managed to get them priced at much longer odds by bookmakers for future races, them when they were drug-free so he could back.
He could even buy them regraded in order that they would only be eligible for lesser races, greatly increasing their odds of winning.
