Gov. Crist may have still been hopeful last week, but it looks like the Florida legislature has a different view.  The chair of the state House Gaming Committee predicted that the renegotiated compact would not pass in the state legislature.  Interestingly, the Committee has yet to make its recommendation to the entire House on whether to approve or reject the revised compact.

In the meantime, an editorial in the Tampa Tribune says the state is "wasting valuable time -- and leaving money on the table" by not passing the revised compact.  The editorial takes issue with the expansion of casino-style gaming in Florida, but lands squarely in the pragmatic camp of allowing Indian gaming so long as the state gets a cut.  And in a spin we've seen in other mainstream media coverage and political discourse, the assertion is that "the state is at a major disadvantage" due to tribal sovereignty and federal law.  Given that Florida has staved off both the Seminoles and federal law for nearly two decades, we'd say that the state clearly has had the upper hand and has taken full advantage of it.

Read more in the Jacksonville Observer, Proposed Gaming Compact Looks Unlikely to Pass