A new gambling pact is a long shot with Florida lawmakers, but if it happens, slots could be coming to the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
Tallahassee lawmakers are set to debate the Seminole Gaming Compact next week.
Under the deal, negotiated by Governor Rick Scott, tribal casinos would receive roulette and craps tables - paying 3 billion dollars to the state over the next 7 years in the process.
Miami-Dade county would get a new gambling facility, and Palm Beach county would get slot machines at the kennel club - 750 terminals.
"A lot of people here have enjoyment and there's no sense to not expand it,” says says Michael Weadock, a frequent visitor to the Kennel.
Weadock says the deal could bring in new fans - and keep the dollars local.
“Martin County, St. Lucie County, Okeechobee County - they all come down and drive right past us to get down to the Seminole Casino,” he says. “Doesn't make sense for us to have that.”
Not everyone is on board.
Advocacy groups like nocasinos.org are making a strong push against the expansion with videos and other promotional material.
Kennel club fan Trent Trimble says he supports the expansion, but he can see the downside of slots.
“I see people at some of the other local places just feeding the machine, feeding the machine, feeding the machine,” he says.
“There's potentially some people who might spend too much on it, and that could be a concern.”
The legislative session gets underway Tuesday.
We reached out to the kennel club for a response, but we haven't heard back from representatives.
