The Florida Supreme Court has struck down Gov. Charlie Crist's compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to expand their casino operations on tribal lands.

In the court's 89-page ruling handed down Thursday, it concluded "the governor does not have the constitutional authority to bind the State to a gaming compact that clearly departs from the State's public policy by legalizing types of gaming that are illegal everywhere else in the state."

House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, took the governor to court shortly after the governor's office finalized negotiations last November with the tribe to expand Vegas-style table games like blackjack and baccarat at facilities like its Hard Rock casinos in Hollywood and Tampa.

The ruling is a stinging defeat for Crist, who campaigned against expanding gambling but asserted after taking office that the decision by Broward voters to embrace Vegas-style slot machines forced him to negotiate a new compact with the Seminoles.

The deal Crist signed, though, went beyond giving the Seminoles slots by also allowing table games otherwise illegal in Florida. The state was also set to reap hundreds of millions of dollarsover the years from the tribe in exchange for the expansion.

But it's unclear what effect the ruling will have, since the tribe has already installed the games at some of its casinos.

Barry Richard, the Tallahassee lawyer that helped negotiate the deal for the Tribe, said Thursday he was "disappointed in the result," but wouldn't know how they planned to proceed until after conferencing with his clients later today.

Senate President Ken Pruitt, whose office filed a brief supporting the House's case, said the $60 million the state had already received from the Tribe was not factored into the state budget that took effect this week and was ready to be refunded.

"For the Senate, this case was about protecting the important concept of separation of powers," he said in a statement. "We are pleased with the Supreme Court's decision upholding the legislature's sole authority to make law."

Rubio, meantime, issued his own statement calling the decision "a victory for our constitutional system of checks and balances," and said the state should negotiate a new compact with the Seminoles "that doesn't unnecessarily expand gambling in our state and that's fair to taxpayers."

"In the meantime, I trust that Gov. Crist and the Seminole Tribe will abide by the court's decision and act in accordance with the law."