Chaotic lake getting fence and securityWhat we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
LEHIGH ACRES Chaotic lake getting fence and security Now, with all the negative attention it has gotten, some think putting up a fence is a great way to keep that bad activity out.
CAPE CORAL What we learned about Cape Coral’s water crisis after a ride along On Friday, WINK News got to ride along to see just what people are doing that could be wasting water.
FORT MYERS Students affected by COVID-19 able to graduate for the first time For many young people, COVID stripped away one of their greatest rites of passage: graduation.
Deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County Authorities are at the scene of a deadly crash on State Road 29 in Hendry County on Friday afternoon.
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.
FORT MYERS Group rescues dogs before getting put down in Lee County Our animal shelters are packed with amazing puppies who have the sole desire to be loved.
FORT MYERS FGCU student beats all odds and is able to graduate Nearly four years ago, Marisa Manning had her heart set on going to Florida Gulf Coast University but never thought she’d find her passion for studying parasites.
FORT MYERS Victim in MLK Blvd. shooting identified as social media influencer The victim of the Martin Luther King Boulevard shooting has been identified as a local social media influencer.
FORT MYERS Could a Ferris wheel in downtown Fort Myers work? Right now, there are talks to bring a Ferris wheel to downtown Fort Myers, but several things are still up in the air.
LITTLE HICKORY BAY Improving ‘Hell’s Gate’ safety, a notoriously dangerous waterway for boaters A push to make an area known as “Hell’s Gate” safer since it’s a dangerous stretch of water with several blind corners within Little Hickory Bay.
Fixing failed back surgeries More than a million and a half people in the U.S. undergo back surgery each year. However, classic back surgery has one of the highest failure rates of any surgery.
WINK NEWS Getting an inside look at the FEMA discount controversy Picking up the pieces after Hurricane Ian has been difficult for many and moving on can impact our wallets.
FGCU FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff playing for hometown team after labrum injury FGCU pitcher Dylan Wolff is living the dream playing for the hometown team after he overcame a labrum injury.
LEHIGH ACRES Frustrated Lehigh parents want action after violent school fights go viral online Violence at a Lehigh Acres Middle school was captured and posted online.
Turtle Club beachfront restaurant relaunches in Naples After a series of private friends and family events this week, The Turtle Club will reopen May 5 and begin taking reservations again May 6.
In this Sept. 9, 2018 photo, customers watch sports on a giant screen at the sports book of the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. Panelists at a gambling conference in Atlantic City, on Thursday, June 13, 2019, predicted 90 percent of all US sports betting will be done online or over smart phones within the next 10 years. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry) The Seminole Tribe on Monday quietly launched online sports betting in Florida, amid continuing legal challenges to a gambling deal approved by state lawmakers in May. The tribe’s highly anticipated rollout of sports betting in the state came with no fanfare, and a spokesman declined to comment when asked about the launch. But social media erupted Monday afternoon after the Seminoles’ Hard Rock Sportsbook allowed players in Florida to download an app enabling them to make deposits and place wagers on professional football, hockey and soccer games and make bets on other sports. The launch was first reported by radio talk-show host Andy Slater. Gov. Ron DeSantis this spring opened the door to sports betting in Florida — viewed as one of the nation’s most-fertile grounds for digital wagering — through a deal signed with tribe Chairman Marcelus Osceola Jr. The Legislature signed off on the agreement, known as a compact, in a May special session, but the deal is being challenged in federal court. Sports betting expert and attorney John Holden said he doesn’t think the app’s launch has anything to do with the state’s confidence in winning the pending lawsuits. “I think it’s simply this was the track, we weren’t told not to launch it. I don’t think it necessarily indicates how they’re feeling.” The “hub-and-spoke” sports-betting plan in the compact allows gamblers throughout the state to place bets online, with the bets run through computer servers on tribal property. The compact says bets made anywhere in Florida “using a mobile app or other electronic device, shall be deemed to be exclusively conducted by the tribe.” The tribe is ultimately expected to pay billions of dollars to the state because of sports betting and other benefits in the compact, such as being able to offer craps and roulette at tribal casinos. Part of the deal also requires the tribe to enter agreements to market sports betting with pari-mutuels that will receive a 60 percent cut of profits generated by the marketing. The tribe announced Thursday that it has contracted with the Palm Beach Kennel Club; Hialeah Park Casino; Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.; Tampa Bay Downs; and TGT Poker & Racebook in Tampa to partner in the digital sports wagering. The terms of the deal call for the Seminoles to pay at least $2.5 billion to the state over the first five years of the 30-year agreement. The tribe said Thursday the state received a first payment of $37 million in October. DeSantis issued a statement describing the compact as “historic.” “Not only will this compact bring a guaranteed $2.5 billion in revenue over the next five years, but it also brings together Florida pari-mutuel businesses from across the state in a creative partnership with the Seminole Tribe providing increased access to safe and transparent sports betting in Florida,” DeSantis said. Sports betting expert and attorney John Holden said, “this is really sort of the modernization of not only sports betting, but sports fandom.” The tribe’s digital sportsbook went live just days before a federal judge is slated to hear arguments in a case filed by Florida pari-mutuel owners challenging parts of the compact. Owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida contend in the lawsuit, filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior and Secretary Deb Haaland, that the sports-betting plan violates federal laws and will cause a “significant and potentially devastating” impact on their businesses. The Department of the Interior oversees Indian gambling issues and allowed the compact to move forward. The Havenick family, which has owned the Miami-Dade and Southwest Florida facilities for more than five decades, filed a similar lawsuit in July against the state in federal court in Tallahassee, but a judge dismissed the Florida case last month. Meanwhile, digital wagering platforms DraftKings and FanDuel each have contributed $10 million to a political committee backing a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida that would legalize sports betting at professional sports arenas, pari-mutuel facilities and statewide via online platforms. The proposal would go on the November 2022 ballot if the committee can collect enough signatures and get Florida Supreme Court approval of the wording. WINK News contributed to this report.