Allison McCoy, senior vice president of marketing for Spectrum Gaming Group, described her company's mission at the Florida Gaming Congress in February. She told Sunshine State News, "Our job is to tell people not what they want to hear but what they need to know."
Now Spectrum, sponsor of the Gaming Congress, will be telling Florida what it needs to know about its gaming future -- officially.
The Florida House and Senate announced Tuesday the joint selection of Spectrum Gaming Group to complete a two-part study of gaming in Florida to assist the Legislature in better understanding the economic, fiscal, and social impacts of possible changes in Floridas gaming environment.
At a total cost of $388,845, the study will be addressed in separate reports delivered in July and October.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said, Spectrum has extensive experience in providing independent studies of gaming in a variety of jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Ohio. I look forward to reviewing their report as we take a holistic view of the role gaming plays in Florida's economy.
In fact, New Jersey-based Spectrum had a number of strong recommendations from previous clients. One of them came from Daniel O'Connell, secretary of housing and economic development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
O'Connell had this to say about Spectrum's gaming study in the Bay State: The analysis provides a comprehensive response to the many thoughtful questions raised by legislators and other interested groups, and reflects the integrity and financial expertise for which Spectrum Gaming is widely regarded.
The Florida Legislature has said the study will provide a comprehensive analysis of gaming market information, to include an assessment of the Florida gaming industry and its economic and social effects; an assessment of various potential changes in the gaming industry and their potential economic and social effects (including effects on other areas of the economy); and a statistical analysis of relationships between gaming and economic variables for communities.
Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said he eagerly awaits the reports. The Florida Lottery, Seminole casinos, and gaming activities at licensed pari-mutuel facilities generate substantial economic activity; however, the states management of these activities has been focused on piecemeal changes, not a comprehensive policy that integrates gaming into the broader Florida economy. This study will help House and Senate committees comprehensively examine gaming issues, including those that will affect the scheduled renegotiation of the Seminole Gaming Compact.
At the Florida Gaming Congress in February -- just after the Legislature issued its Invitation to Negotiate on the study -- Michael J. Pollock, Spectrum's managing director, pointed out that the congress would dovetail with all aspects of a gaming study.
"This (congress) is where leaders from a variety of fields can offer ideas, express concerns and debate policies," Pollack told SSN. "When it comes to the future of gaming, the Sunshine State needs more light, not more heat."
After his company's selection for the project, Pollock said in a press statement that he is keenly aware of "the importance of this study to Floridas policymakers in so many ways, from the future of its tourism industry to the quality of life for its citizens."
Spectrum announced the mainstays of its team for the Florida project: Dr. Howard Shaffer, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Division on Addiction at The Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate; Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI); Doug Walker, associate professor of economics at the College of Charleston; and, Lori Pennington-Gray, associate director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute at the University of Florida.
A complete description of the scope of work is contained at pages 11-13 of the Invitation to Negotiate, which can be found through the Gaming Study Home Page.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
