Florida’s most recognizable weatherman, Matt Devitt, has entered into a bitter fight with his former employer, WINK News. At the center of this mess is casino gambling records. Devitt wants a judge to keep those records sealed, saying they’re private and have nothing to do with the claims WINK filed against him after letting him go.
The whole story broke wide open in August as the official court date was announced. Now, both sides are hurtling toward a jury trial set for September 7, 2027, a date that’s already looming large for anyone following local Florida news. Devitt’s message is clear: he’s not backing down from what he calls a smear campaign, and he’s determined to protect the reputation he spent a decade building on TV and online.
His ouster sent shockwaves across the community and even got a reaction out of Newt Gingrich. Gingrich jumped in on Twitter, demanding an answer from the station: “Thousands of us have come to trust him, like him and rely on him,” Gingrich wrote. “What happened?”
Devitt grew famous for guiding Southwest Florida through hurricanes and tornadoes, turning into a trusted face for thousands. He left WINK on January 8 after ten years and brought over a million followers with him when he went.
It didn’t take long for the pot to boil over. Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, which owns WINK, sued in March accusing Devitt of launching and running a rival weather company, Weatherview Inc, while still on WINK’s payroll. The station claims he made money through that side business, and that his massive social following belongs, in whole or in part, to WINK.
Devitt’s not having it. He says the pages, the YouTube channel, and the brand are all his. For years, he says, WINK bragged about his success, yet now they want to take credit because they fired him.
And then comes the fight over gambling records. WINK wants details on every casino visit: player rewards, gaming activity, tax filings, and even surveillance footage, all the way back to 2018. The company says these records could show Devitt was in casinos during work hours and wants to tie that to a “pattern of misconduct.”
Devitt’s team claims this is an effort to gather information to humiliate him and introduce personal matters unrelated to his work. One legal filing even notes Devitt can’t remember ever stepping foot in the Spinners Arcade at all, and WINK has produced nothing linking work or financial loss for the company.
Casinos typically guard this data closely, but the court could force them to turn it over if it decides it matters for the case. Both sides are still fighting over whether the request is legitimate or just invasive.
Right now, mediation is on the calendar before the jury trial. Both WINK and Devitt are digs in deep. Devitt is countersuing, as he wants full ownership of his brand and his followers, and he wants the gambling accusations struck from the record. WINK is pushing just as hard, arguing that they’re entitled to proof he didn’t break his contract or misuse company time.
It’s more than just a contract dispute. The case has turned into a public showdown over privacy, social media ownership, and what counts as your business when you work in the public eye. And for Devitt, as much as anything, the fight is personal.
