TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge is pushing back the start of a crucial trial over the future of gambling in Florida.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle agreed Monday to delay until October a trial that will decide whether the Seminole Tribe of Florida can have blackjack tables at their casinos.
The trial was initially scheduled for this summer but attorneys for the state and the tribe asked for the delay.
The tribe filed the lawsuit last year after key portions of a 5-year gambling deal with the state expired.
Gov. Rick Scott in December reached a new $3 billion deal with the tribe that would let them keep blackjack and add table games, such as craps and roulette. But the deal was rejected by the Florida Legislature during this year’s session.
