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Seminole casino complex expected to rock visitors (FLORIDA) -- Imagine a 90-foot wall of water doubling as a movie screen, a casino bar dotted with dozens of suspended plasma-screen TVs, and a main entrance that -- like Orlando-area amusement parks -- gives visitors a spot for photo opportunities. Senate
OKs removal of state jurisdiction on Indian reservation
(FLORIDA) -- State law enforcement would be barred from investigating
crimes and the state could not preside over civil lawsuits at the
Miccosukee Indian reservation under a bill passed by the Senate Wednesday. Slots at racetracks are rejected for now (FLORIDA) -- A House committee Tuesday struck down a proposal to allow video slot machines at jai alai frontons, greyhound parks and thoroughbred tracks, aggravating already tense House and Senate negotiations on the state budget. Seminole Indian council fires James Billie as chairman (FLORIDA) -- The Florida Seminoles fired James Billie as the tribe's longtime chairman Tuesday, nearly two years after it suspended him amid charges sexual harassment and financial mismanagement that cost the tribe millions. Tribal council votes Monday to oust Billie (FLORIDA) -- In a meeting with the four Tribal Council members who are trying to kick him out of his job, James E. Billie, the suspended chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, defended himself Thursday against misconduct charges in the meeting closed to outsiders. Seminoles Plan Formal End Of Chief Billie's Long Reign (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole tribal council on Thursday made a formal resolution to remove Chairman James Billie, the first step toward ending a two-decade tenure noted for its extraordinary financial gains and nearly constant battles over his flamboyant style and admittedly strong ego. Pari-mutuels taking a gamble that soft economy will persuade Florida legislators (FLORIDA) -- With Florida facing a potential $4 billion shortfall in next year's budget, state gambling interests are betting on renewed legislative interest in video slot machines. Tribe's Casino Built Without Red Tape No building permit, no site planning, no local oversight and no impact fees were required. (FLORIDA) -- Dignitaries sipped champagne Tuesday while toasting an historic day for the Seminole Tribe - the "topping off" of a 12-story Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, a $100 million project designed to achieve financial self sufficiency for the tribe. Seminole Tribe suing suspended chairman, manager over $30 million (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole Tribe is suing its suspended chairman and the tribe's former business manager over $30 million it claims the pair invested without permission. Bill seeks to spread gambling machines (FLORIDA) -- The controversial issue of gambling will be on the Legislature's table again this year, with a push by race tracks and jai alai frontons to operate video lottery terminals The States Take the Bet (WASHINGTON, DC) -- Maryland Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who wants to legalize slot machines at racetracks to help close the state's projected $1.2 billion deficit, isn't the only governor or legislator willing to turn to gambling -- again. Seminoles rev up campaign to fight diabetes (FLORIDA) -- Elsie Bowers recalls a childhood on a rural Florida Seminole reservation where walking was the only way to get around. She helped grow beans and corn, and boys helped hunt wild hog and deer. It's not the same for kids, today, she said. Billie demands to be reinstated as Seminole chairman (FLORIDA) -- He threatened to fire the cops who threatened to arrest him, asked for a half-million dollars in back pay, and tried taking over his old job as tribal chairman without talking to the people who kicked him out in the first place. Former Seminole tribal chief tries to get job back (FLORIDA) -- Nearly 20 months after he was suspended as chairman of his tribe, sued for sexual harassment and misappropriation of funds and became the center of a fizzled federal investigation, James Billie walked into the Seminole headquarters Tuesday determined to get his job back. Looking for money in all the wrong places – like video slot machines (FLORIDA) -- Public officials should brace themselves for this statement; it may shock them. Ready? IRS looking into Seminole tribe's spending practices (FLORIDA) -- Although three fired Seminole tribal workers were acquitted earlier this month of federal embezzlement charges after a judge cited lack of evidence, the probe into the tribe's financial practices is continuing. Miccosukee bill alarms law enforcement officials (FLORIDA) -- A bill orchestrated by influential lobbyists who want to eliminate state law enforcement jurisdiction over Miccosukee Indian land is heading quickly to the House floor. Tribal thefts case topples Former Seminole Chairman James Billie's testimony leads a judge to acquit three men of embezzlement charges. (FLORIDA) -- A trial that provided a rare glimpse into the freewheeling spending habits of the Seminole Tribe came to an abrupt end Tuesday when a federal judge threw out conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering charges against three former tribal employees. Seminoles acquitted in embezzlement case (FLORIDA) -- A judge threw out the embezzlement case against three former Seminole tribe employees this morning, acquitting all three after a 10-day trial that had spotlighted the enormous sums of cash generated by the tribal casino empire and the free-spending habits of those who controlled it. Ex-Seminole chief takes responsibility for Internet venture (FLORIDA) -- Ousted Seminole Indian Chief James Billie took full responsibility Monday for quietly ordering an Internet gambling operation funded by $2.7 million in tribal money that prosecutors claim was stolen. FBI analyst testifies about tribe wire transfers (FLORIDA) -- Federal prosecutors rested their case Thursday against three men accused of stealing from the Seminole Indians without calling suspended tribal chairman James Billie, the man at the center of their three-year investigation. U.S. agent contradicts gaming-case prosecutor (FLORIDA) -- Seminole Chairman James Billie helped two employees build an online gaming casino and allowed it to advertise on the tribe's Web site, a federal agent testified Tuesday, contradicting testimony by tribal elders and prosecutors who said the Internet gaming company is a fake. Wheel of Misfortune: A TIME special investigation -- Indian casinos have fallen far short of benefiting the wider Native American population Tribe tries to counter image (FLORIDA) -- Far from the conniving embezzler described by prosecutors, Tim Cox was a fiscal reformer who tried to rein in the reckless spending of Seminole leaders, defense lawyers declared Thursday in day four of a federal trial that has put a spotlight on the small but enormously wealthy tribe. COMMENTARY: Black Seminoles fled Florida for sanctuary in the Bahamas (FLORIDA) -- Bonded by marriages, similar views of the world and shared enemies -- the U.S. Army and plantation owners -- these Africans and Native Americans became the Seminoles. There might be no more diverse an "ethnic" group as the Seminoles. That diversity is personified by Osceola County's namesake, the legendary Seminole leader Osceola. Financial revelations alarm some Seminoles (CONNECTICUT) -- When Seminole Tribal Council member David Cypress riveted jurors last week with tales of Lexuses and Cadillacs purchased with tribal allocations, it hardly came as a surprise to Gloria Wilson or Judy Baker, two Seminoles and longtime observers of tribal government. Seminole tribe goes on a spending spree (FLORIDA) -- He gave away so many BMWs, Cadillacs and Lexuses he's forgotten who got them all. When friends got drunk in their new cars, he hired lawyers to bail them out. Ex-tribe chief behind gambling venture, lawyers say (FLORIDA) -- Emboldened by his role in enriching a once-impoverished tribe through low-stakes gambling, Seminole chairman James Billie helped orchestrate an offshore gaming operation that funneled millions in tribal money to Belize, defense attorneys in a federal embezzlement trial argued Tuesday. Legalized gambling in the cards? Florida lawmakers are considering a plan that would allow for video slot machine gambling. But what would become of Florida if gambling were legalized outright? (FLORIDA) -- Visitors step off of airplanes at Tampa International Airport and are, in minutes, on a bus heading down Dale Mabry Highway. Official: Look at gambling (FLORIDA) -- With the state budget already $1 billion in the hole, incoming Florida Senate President Jim King said he wants the Legislature to consider expanding gambling in Florida, including slot machines and video poker at racetracks and jai-alai frontons. Bush concedes gaming may be an option (FLORIDA) -- Gov. Jeb Bush adamantly opposed any expansion of gambling during his first term. But with a voter mandate to shrink class sizes, he may have to consider it, he conceded Wednesday. Push underway to legalize video gambling (FLORIDA) -- Florida's racetrack owners have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state's two main political parties this year, in hopes that the Legislature will legalize video gambling machines at parimutuel facilities around the state next year. Seminoles in court over casino lease Tribe officials dispute terms of a lease negotiated mainly by ousted leader James E. Billie. (FLORIDA) -- Three months ago, the Seminole Tribe of Florida stopped sending lease payments to the partnership that built its Coconut Creek Casino, a 24,000 square-foot structure that generates an estimated $61-million a year. Lawsuit Gives Peek Into Casino's Profit Tribe collects $5.1M monthly (FLORIDA) -- The Coconut Creek Casino has been a moneymaking machine for the Seminole Tribe, generating an average of $5.1 million in monthly net revenues in the first half of this year. Politics Gets Billionaire Benefactor (FLORIDA) -- Shopping mall magnate Edward DeBartolo Jr. once gave a former Louisiana governor a suitcase full of $100 bills to get a state gambling license. Seminoles up casino ante (FLORIDA) -- With the lure of celebrity chefs, highbrow accommodations and new-age gambling devices, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is under construction on 100 acres of tribal land between State Road 7 and Florida's Turnpike in Broward County. Florida lottery rolls over to $85 million (FLORIDA) -- What would you do with $85 million dollars? If you are the sole winner of Saturday's Florida Lotto jackpot and choose to take the $85 million over 30 years, you would have enough money to take the state's 16 million residents and a million tourists to lunch, as long as they didn't spend over $5 each. PERSPECTIVES - We shouldn’t have (Indian) trust in the Supreme Court: "...the law is just what judges, congressmen and senators say it is, and no more. And Federal Indian law, the law governing the authorities, immunities, and rights of Indian tribes and Indian people, is just what any five members of the Supreme Court say it is at any given moment..." Gambling in cyberspace Indian gaming column: "Let the Games Begin" (NEW YORK) -- As the Internet and interactive technology continue to wind their way further into the lives of Americans, it is only natural that gaming would make the corresponding leap into cyberspace. Churches oppose gambling Diverse religions fear the adverse effects of the vice (UTAH) -- A common perception in Utah is that the only religion strongly opposed to gambling is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not so. Seminoles make threats as Sanford shapes future (FLORIDA) -- Cattle king F.A. Hendry, who drove herds from Central Florida to Spanish ships anchored at his wharf at Punta Rassa, had many friends among the Seminoles. Indian Properties: More Than Just Casinos (NEW MEXICO) -- Located in a New Mexico valley between Albuquerque and Santa Fe are 73,000 pristine acres of high desert land owned by The Pueblo Nation of Santa Ana. New casinos raise stakes in Florida (FLORIDA) -- With arms folded and ball cap tilted back, James Hudson has his best poker face on as he patiently waits to get into a card game at the Seminole Tribe's bingo hall and casino in Tampa. Indian Heritage Preserved in Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery (TEXAS) -- Grass is scarce and white chips of limestone cover the plots where black Seminole Indian scouts and their descendants are buried 120 miles west of San Antonio, near Brackettville. Water Managers Worry Tribe Will Develop Land (FLORIDA) -- South Florida water managers are concerned the Miccosukee Tribe will develop a piece of the land in the Florida Everglades slated to be used in a water restoration project. Firms to oversee Seminole projects (FLORIDA) -- Two companies with area offices in Orlando will oversee construction of the Seminole Tribe's $315 million Hard Rock Hotel and Resort projects in Tampa and Hollywood. Tribe's Suit Claims It Was Defrauded (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole Tribe of Florida claims its former operations manager and three other ex-employees used a computer services company and phony invoices to defraud the tribe of more than $4 million. Work to resume on Seminoles' Hard Rock resort (FLORIDA) -- The Hard Rock resort is back on track. Buoyed by $315 million of freshly sold bonds, the Seminole tribe is resuming work on a Hard Rock Hotel & Resort on 100 acres adjacent to its existing casino. Seminoles forecast $300 million in revenue from Hard Rock (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole Indian Tribe expects more than $300 million in casino revenue from the first full year of operating a new Hard Rock Hotel and Resort in Hollywood. Battle over recompense for lands seized in Florida has long history (FLORIDA) -- Controversy in Oklahoma between "pure-bred" Seminole Indians and "adopted" black slaves continues over federal recompense for lands seized in Florida 148 years ago. Seminole Casino undergoes major renovation (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole Indian tribe is betting it will hit the jackpot with the redesign of its casino in Immokalee. Former Collier commissioner gambles with casino referendum plan (FLORIDA) -- A former Collier County commissioner believes it’s a safe bet that she can get a statewide casino gambling referendum on Florida’s 2004 presidential election ballot to raise money to care for a growing elderly population. Success of
Miccosukees hailed Tribe's casino project leaves bruised feelings (FLORIDA) -- Claude Boudrault says he took a huge loss on his dwelling when the Seminole tribe evicted him and all his neighbors from the Candlelight mobile home park to make way for a Hard Rock Cafe-themed casino. Uprooted mobile homes don't have much resale value.
Seminoles reject Billie's bid for new vote on suspension (FLORIDA) -- The Seminole Tribe of Florida has rejected a petition to put the suspension of its chairman, James Billie, to a referendum, tribal members said Wednesday. Feuds
split newly affluent Seminoles (FLORIDA) -- Miccosukee Indians host trade show (FLORIDA) -- This week, more than 24 Indian tribes have gathered at the Miccosukee Resort and Convention Center for the United South and Eastern Tribes Meeting and Trade Show. Leader
helps tribe hold onto its culture Seminoles
plan gaming resort for Hollywood
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