The legislators proposing destination casinos say their effort to create a statewide gaming commission, modeled on what exists in New Jersey or Nevada, would rein in the already prolific expansion of gaming options in Florida.
And they say the proposal wont change Floridas image any more than the Sunshine State is defined by events like Bike Week in Daytona Beach or Fantasy Fest in Key West.
Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, told reporters Thursday that lobbyists and opponents of the bill such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce have been allowed to define the proposal as an expansion of Las Vegas-style casinos to the Miami-Dade region that will dramatically revamp the entire image of the Sunshine State.
Instead, they contend, the controversial bill, HB 487, which continues to be tweaked and is expected to require serious brokering in the state House, will regulate existing casinos, pari-mutuels, Internet cafes and other gaming options that already proliferate across Florida.
Floridas identity cannot be changed because one casino or two destination resorts open in Miami-Dade County, Fresen said. Its like saying somehow when South Beach was reinvented and all the night-clubs came in that the image of Florida changed. It didnt.
They both said the bill isnt crafted for any particular resort, while Las Vegas Sands Corp. and the Genting Group have announced plans to seek at least one of three resort casino licenses that would be made available.
Bogdanoff added that two recent actions on opposite ends of Florida showcase the reality that the gaming industry is dictating the rules and expanding without any planned structure by Florida.
In Gadsden County, the County Commission on Tuesday agreed to ask voters if slot machines should be allowed in a soon-to-open Gretna barrel racing and poker room resort.
In Miami-Dade County, an application has been filed by the owners of Flagler Dog Track and Magic City Casino to break ground for a gaming resort that will feature jai alai events that also could include slots.
In both cases, loopholes to the states 30-year-old pari-mutuel law are being used that allow referendums on slot machines as long as the pari-mutuel permit-holders conduct a minimum number of events, such as jai alai or barrel racing, in a two-year period.
We have historically created a strategic direction when it comes to health care, when it comes to crime, when it comes to economic development, when it comes to education, but we have not done that in the gaming, Bogdanoff said. The reason we have not done that in the gaming is we are an anti-gaming Legislature and nobody wants to touch the issue. So, because we have chosen to ignore it for a number of years, we have become the fourth largest gaming state in the nation.
The bill would allow three resort casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with each required to pay a 10-percent tax on earnings -- in addition to local taxes.
The earning rate has been criticized since pari-mutuels in Florida must pay 35 percent.
New Jersey casinos are taxed at about 20 percent, while Nevada is around 6 percent.
Fresen and Bogdanoff said they expect the local governments, which would have final say over any development plans, to negotiation their own favorable terms.
Gov. Rick Scott took no stance on the issue Wednesday while meeting with reporters. Meanwhile, House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders, D-Key West, said the issue will give unusual relevance to the minority party in the 2012 session, as he estimated up to 40 of the 81 Republicans will oppose the bill, while 61 votes are needed to approve the bill.
Bogdanoff and Fresen criticized the state-sponsored Florida lottery, which wouldnt be regulated by the commission, and the Seminole Tribes $233-million-a-year compact with the state to operate casinos exclusively in several locations without similar competition.
Monopolies are a bad thing, gaming monopolies are toxic, Bogdanoff said.I think, for the economic and political health of this state, I think we need to have competition in that field.Thats why I would say the destination resorts are important. We have people willing to invest billions of dollars here. We need to control it.
They also questioned the opposition to the gaming that has been offered by business interests including the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Disney, which have argued against the bill as competition for existing tourism dollars rather than an expansion of the economy.
Talk to people who put conventions together, Fresen said. When they decide the location of their convention, its because of whatever the feel of the convention is. Conventions that book in Orlando, they know the surrounding areas; the after-5 things to do are theme parks and family-related things.
If a convention was to book in Miami-Dade, thats a convention that more than likely was not going to be booked in Orlando, he added. Thats a convention that would have been booked in Vegas. So were actually capturing dollars that would have been lost to Florida.
Fresen said the South Florida market has been calling for an expansion of gaming, while the states compact with the Seminoles has created an economic disadvantage to the poker rooms, dog tracks and jai alai frontons.
In creating the large type or potentially large type of destination resorts, were doing two things: One, were creating a direct competition to that monopoly that exists right now, Fresen said. Two, I, as a legislator from South Florida, Im dealing with the reality that my community is begging me, can we do something to inject some capital into the economy? And I have $6 billion knocking on my door in Miami-Dade County.
He equated the opening of every gas station or Publix where the lottery is offered as the expansion of gaming, the same as when the lottery introduces new scratch-off options.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859 or (772) 215-9889.
