More than 400 Vegas-style slot machines were put into action with little fanfare at the Seminole Coconut Creek casino on Friday, Feb. 29th, making it the second of the Seminole Tribe's Florida casinos to offer Class III machines.

Some 800 Vegas-style slot machines have been in action at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood since Jan. 28th. Seminole officials say the Class III machines will come next to the tribe's Seminole Hollywood casino, but no date has been set for their introduction.

No one has addressed what will happen to the slots if the Florida Supreme Court fails to uphold the authority of Gov. Charlie Crist to enter into the compact with the Seminoles that approved the expansion of Indian gaming in Florida in return for payments to the state that will run more than $100 million annually.

But with no indication when the Florida high court may rule on the pending challenge to Crist's authority, the Seminoles appear to be attempting to quietly create a reality on the casino floor -- with installation of hundreds of these expensive machines -- that will be tough to reverse.

Many observers believe that If the court agrees Crist exceeded his authority and the legislature must ratify the compact (which it may well reject), the tribe under federal law probably will still get to continuing operating the Class III slots, which are replacing the old Class II bingo-style gaming machines.

The big question, however, is whether the Seminole casinos will soon be able to offer the two table games Crist agreed to in the compact: blackjack and baccarat.

The Seminoles have ordered equipment for the table games and begun training blackjack and baccarat dealers, but speculation on when they may make their initial appearance has centered on late spring or early summer.

Some believe the tribe is likely to hold off introducing the table games -- so as not to be unduly provocative -- until the Florida Supreme Court rules, and is more likely to try to get Class III slots established in its biggest casinos including the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa and the Seminole Casino in Immokalee near Naples.