An inexorable push to expand casino gaming is gaining momentum in Florida.
Seeking to lure high-rolling "whales" to Las Vegas-style destination-resort casinos in Miami and Broward County, promoters are betting that the 2012 Legislature will go along for the ride.
Amid the state's search for jobs, gamblers are getting a more friendly reception from lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott.
Scott has said he would support casinos as long aslocal voters approve.
"I think we need to make sure the local communities are supportive of it," he said. "We ought to have a vote.''
This week he went further, telling the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "I want to look at all the different options that [casino developers] are coming out with,"
Tea party groups could provide valuable political cover to conservative lawmakers typically opposed to gambling ventures.
South Florida Tea Party Chairman Everett Wilkinson, who fought casino legislation last session, now says lawmakers need to ensure that Florida taxpayers get maximum benefit.
We in the tea party movement are not necessarily social conservatives, he said. We are fiscal conservatives interested in what is best for Florida taxpayers."
Wilkinson cautioned that his West Palm Beach-based group would oppose any plan that does not protect revenues for pari-mutuel racetracks as well as theSeminole Indian Tribe, which has a $6 billion, 20-year gambling compact with the state.
"We want to see something additive, he explained.
Past opponents of expanded gaming -- including former Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon -- have yet to speak out this time around. So casino developers have waded in.
In May, the Malaysia-based Genting Group purchased the Miami Herald building on Biscayne Boulevard, where it plans to build a $3 billion destination resort.
Miami New Times wryly noted this week that the "Resorts World Miami" project has been getting good press from the Miami Herald's "effusive and severely conflicted" coverage.
Meanwhile, gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson is eyeing the South Florida market for expansion of his Las Vegas Sands franchise. Adelson had closed-door meetings with several South Florida officials in the past week.
Hotel-casino magnate Donald Trump, who has a home in Palm Beach, is also said to be angling for a high-end gaming project.
The overarching goal is to turn South Florida from a local market to a global playground that attracts the world's high-rollers. With nearly 15,000 slot machines already clattering away, the region is looking for international junkets to augment the mom-and-pop day-trippers.
A well-established second home for affluent South Americans, Miami could revive the heydays of Havana, whose casinos were a magnet for wealthy gamblers in the pre-Castro era.
More recently, the Las Vegas model -- which melds five-star dining, high-end retail, lavish entertainment and a sprawling convention business at megaresorts with 3,000-plus guest rooms -- transformed that city from a remote backwater to a glittering oasis.
The Genting Group's Miami project appears to be in that mold. Its proposed wave-like towers and sprawling lagoon harks to the over-the-top motif inspired by Bellagio, Wynn and other famed Strip resorts.
The whales expect a level of amenities, says former state senator and gaming expert Steve Geller.
But South Florida's big casino dreams could be a mirage, too.
William Thompson, professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said, "I don't know if it will go. It won't bring in more tourists than you already have."
"The general public should be warned that this won't bring more money to Florida, either. The jobs promise is shaky because you will lose other jobs. It's not going to add anything to the economy," said Thompson, a skeptic of casinos as economic-development engines.
A Florida anti-gambling group, No Casinos, has revived to fight any new gambling initiatives.
The group helped to defeat a 1994 constitutional amendment to bring casinos to Florida, but narrowly lost a 2004 campaign to block slot machines at pari-mutuels.
John Sowinski, president of No Casinos, said his organization will partner with law enforcement, faith-based organizations and business groups, possibly including Orlando-area theme parks, to oppose any legislation that would expand gaming in the state.
Nevertheless, the gambling bug appears to have bitten more Florida lawmakers. The prospect of $1 billion or more in additional annual tax revenue -- not to mention a front-loaded influx of campaign contributions -- is intoxicating.
Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, who is drafting a yet-to-be-disclosed casino bill, said he's not surprised by the rising opposition, which he suggested is funded "by entities either in-state or out-of-state."
"I look forward to the debate," he said.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who once noted that the state is "already a little bit pregnant" with casinos, expects his chamber to vote on destination-resort legislation next year.
I think people need to understand the costs to the state and the potential benefits, the Merritt Island Republican told reporters in Tallahassee. Obviously, the economic climate has impacted it a bit."
Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
