This just in: Seminole deal near?

Someone “close to the negotiations” for a new tribal gaming compact in Florida tells The Associated Press the Gov. Rick Scott is feeling out legislative leaders about holding a special session in May. The reason: A new state/Seminole Tribe deal. We’re told something’s on the table because Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera (R) met with state Senate President Don Gaetz (R) about a mooted Seminole agreement. Gaetz, however, is in the dark as to the compact’s particulars. Scott’s spokesman, however, flatly says, “There is no deal,” and the Seminoles are keeping mum. A May special session would come at a tricky time because that is also when Scott will be picking and choosing those parts of the Florida budget of which he approves. An expanded Seminole contract would give him extra spending flexibility. And while other states are dealing with saturated, shrinking casino markets, Florida’s gambling revenue has grown in the last two years. It would seem advisable for Scott to double down on Seminole gaming, with its certain revenue figures, not go fishing for a better deal in the more-volatile private sector.