2021 GOLDEN ROTUNDA AWARDS
Gaming Deal Runner-Up
LOBBYING
PLAY
OF THE
YEAR
T
he lobbying push to secure the largest gaming Compact in history required an all-hands-on-deck approach to help secure approval from a polarized Legislature. It started at the top with Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming, and Jim Shore, the Seminole Tribe’s General Counsel, sitting down with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to make their case about the benefits of the 30-year agreement that would guarantee billions in shared revenue to the state. The Tribe’s designated lobbyists, Will McKinley, Angela Dempsey, and Fred Dickinson of PooleMcKinley, were simultaneously keeping the lines of communication open between the Plaza Level and the Tribe as the two sides hammered out the nitty-gritty details of the Compact. Several other contract lobbyists were in on the push, including Gus Corbella and Hayden Dempsey of Greenberg Trau-
rig, Charlie Dudley of Floridian Partners, and Marc Dunbar, Chris Moya, and Jennifer Ungru of Dean Mead. Though the Compact has tremendous upside for the state, and strong support from the Governor and legislative leaders, passing it was not a cake walk. The Tribe faced opposition from gaming and anti-gaming interests alike. The sports betting exclusivity clause drew in some of the biggest platforms in that sector, No Casinos — the group behind the 2018 anti-gaming amendment — said it was an illegal expansion,
and parimutuels got into the weeds on decoupling. Any one of them could have derailed the process, but none did. The lobbying team didn’t do it alone. Behind the scenes, the squad received air support from the Seminole Tribe’s formidable political operation led by Rick Asnani, the founder and President of Cornerstone Solutions. Asnani teamed with long-time Florida media strategist Adam Goodman and recruited the latter’s brother, Max Goodman, who has established himself as a growing force in statewide politics, to produce a multimillion-dollar ad campaign touting the benefits of the Compact. Lawmakers could not turn on their Tallahassee televisions without seeing Seminole Tribal Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. sitting side-by-side with Gov. Ron DeSantis putting ink to paper on the historic agreement. Ultimately, the Compact cleared the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, forever changing the landscape of Florida gaming. Top: Gov. Ron DeSantis and Marcellus Osceola Jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, celebrate the signing of the Gaming Compact. Bottom: Gov. DeSantis with representatives of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
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INFLUENCE Fall 2021