Las Vegas Sands Corp. Sues Over Alleged Seminole Signature Blocking in Florida

Las Vegas Sands Corp is suing a political action committee backed by Florida’s Seminole tribe for allegedly trying to sabotage its possess political ambitions inwards the state.

The Las Vegas-based casino giant has teamed upwards with Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians on a ballot initiative called “Florida Voters in Charge (FVC).” The movement is hoping to pucker the almost 900,000 signatures needful to catch its gaming expanding upon measure on the 2022 ballot.

But LVS says the Seminoles have targeted the take the field with “coordinated molestation and intimidation.” The cause also claims parties acting on behalf of the folk are paying turned signature gatherers to either lead the res publica for at to the lowest degree sestet weeks, or electrical switch to the other side.

The folk is also accused of circulating a “sham petition,” similar to the LVS petition. It’s designed to disconcert voters past tricking them into thought process they’ve already signed the LVS initiative, the causa claims.

Absent conquer intervention, Defendants’ concerted scheme to undermine Florida’s constitutional amendment cognitive operation testament likely live successful, and Plaintiffs testament not live able to obtain the identification number of signatures required to come out the Gaming Initiative on the 2022 ballot,” the cause claims.

LVS Sunshine State Plan

LVS has long had designs on gambling casino holiday resort inward Florida. That’s where the Seminoles have a monopoly on gambling casino gaming via an arrangement with the state. They own and operate 7 Hard Rock-branded properties inwards Florida.

The FVC initiative is pushing to ask voters inwards a 2022 ballot whether they want to alter the land make-up to allow pari-mutuel card rooms to become full-blown casinos. That’s if they are at to the lowest degree 130 miles away from the Seminole reservation.

If approved, it could open up the door for LVS or the Poarch Creeks to buy a cardroom inward or around the Jacksonville area. That way could later be upgraded to a gambling casino resort.

$7K to Leave the State

According to the lawsuit, LVS hired a private investigator, identified inward court of law documents as “Circulator A,” who posed as a campaigner on the FVC campaign.

Circulator group A says he was approached past a woman workings for the block campaign. She allegedly offered him $2,000 to shift sides, adding that she would live paid a $500 direction if he did so.

The woman told the common soldier investigator the federation of tribes was paying signature-gatherers who lived come out of country $7,000 simply to quit the FVC drive and allow Florida for at to the lowest degree 6 weeks. They would acquire $2,000 upwardly front, so $2,500 threesome weeks after that, and a last $2,500 after sise weeks.

The adult female said they would shew they were out of commonwealth past logging into the Hard John Rock gaming platform, which uses geolocation software package to ensure gamblers are based inwards Florida.

The cause was filed belatedly Wednesday inward Leon County say electrical circuit court. It’s asking the homage to exclude the defendants from officious inwards the contractual relationships betwixt the plaintiffs and their petition circulators. It also seeks indemnification of an amount to live proven at trial.