More casinos a sure bet for South Florida
By Amy Driscoll and Mary Ellen Klas
© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company
Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Floridians defeated casinos in bruising statewide votes in 1978, 1986 and 1994. But that was before poker rooms throughout the state and slot machines at Indian reservations and Broward County parimutuels made Florida what it rejected three times over: a gambling state.

Now the state has casinos -- 11 of them, eight run by Indian tribes, with three more possibly on the way in Miami-Dade County -- and gaming of one sort or another from Jacksonville to Miami.

And that may be just the beginning.

In closed-door negotiations with the Seminole Tribe, Gov. Charlie Crist has offered the tribe permission to run Las Vegas-style slot machines at its casinos as well as the exclusive right to run Las Vegas-style card games, like blackjack and baccarat, according to people close to the administration.

In return, the state would get something it has long coveted: a piece of the tribe's action from gambling. The tribe pays no state tax because it is a sovereign nation.

Upon legislative ratification of the deal, the state's share could begin at $50 million in the first year and rise to $75 million in the second year and $100 million in the third, the sources said. The tribe, which runs a $1 billion-plus gambling empire that includes the Hard Rock casino near Hollywood, also would pay the state an additional percentage based on the growth of its revenue from gaming.

The prospect of giving the Indians more than slot machines, however, may trigger demand for more games elsewhere in the state. Sen. Steve Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat and an expert on gaming law, said he already has spoken to the governor about offering the state's parimutuels -- dog and horse tracks and jai-alai frontons -- the same options as the Seminole Tribe.

''If you decide you're going to give new [games] to anybody, you should give it to whoever will raise the most money for the state,'' Geller said. ``I'm not telling the governor that we have to give the Indians or parimutuels anything, but if he's going to give it to anybody, we have to cut our best deal.''

The money that more gambling could generate for the state is suddenly more attractive: Demand for more cash to run state government has been building this summer with each grim financial forecast for Florida.

Crist said last week that his top priority in negotiations with the Seminoles is to get as much money as possible.

''We are negotiating with them aggressively because to not do so I think puts Florida taxpayers in a bad situation,'' he said.

''Those additional revenues could help in education, they could help in health and human services and in some areas we're going to need some help in,'' Crist added.

The gambling landscape in Florida already has undergone vast changes in the last year. Las Vegas-style slot machines are open at Broward County parimutuels, following voters' approval of the measure in 2005. Miami-Dade voters narrowly rejected slots with 52 percent of the vote -- but they will get another chance at the polls in January.

In Broward, slots are spinning at Mardi Gras Race Track and Gaming Center, Gulfstream Park and Casino and the Isle Casino at Pompano Park Harness Track. A casino at Dania Jai-Alai is still in the planning stages.

And even though initial revenues at the state-regulated casinos have been much lower than originally expected -- state economists now expect $83 million less in taxes this fiscal year than they had forecast a few months ago -- the talk is all about more slots.

''Gambling is here. It's been here,'' said Isadore Havenick, vice president of business development for Flagler Dog Track and Sports Entertainment Center in Miami, which he hopes to expand into slot machines. ``Anyone who thinks it isn't should drive down I-95 and look at the billboards advertising all the games. It might as well be taxed and regulated.''

Lawmakers passed a new set of pro-gambling measures that became law July 1: more slot machines at Broward casinos; bigger poker pots at card rooms; wagering on dominoes; longer hours for casinos; ATMs on site. An additional measure that would have expanded the slot machine option to every dog track, horse track and jai-alai fronton in the state failed -- this time.

''The governor said he would not like to see the expansion of gambling, but if Miami-Dade has slot machine gambling and the Indians have a compact, you are putting your existing facilities at a severe disadvantage by not allowing them to expand their marketplace,'' said Sen. Dennis Jones, a Treasure Island Republican who heads the Senate committee that oversees gambling issues.

The bill that would have allowed slots at parimutuels across the state passed the Senate last session and was introduced in the House by Speaker Marco Rubio's deputy, Rep. David Rivera of Miami.

The measure failed in the House, where any effort to revive it may face even stronger opposition. Though Rubio opposes gambling expansion, he has not been as vocal as his successor in 2009, Rep. Ray Sansom of Destin, is expected to be.

''I think the governor would go for it. Do I think the House will go for it now? No,'' Geller said.

Rubio tried to boost his credibility as a gambling foe by writing an opinion piece last month in the Florida Baptist Witness, a weekly online newsletter. In it, he vowed to ``be more steadfast and diligent in my final term as speaker to oppose gambling legislation.''

His clout on the gambling question is about to be tested in his own backyard: The January vote in Miami-Dade will decide whether the county's three parimutuels -- Flagler Dog Track, Calder Race Course and Miami Jai Alai -- can offer slot machines. Rubio has said he plans to play a strong role in fighting slots in Miami-Dade.

He and other opponents, including religious conservatives, will face a well-organized effort in favor of slots. Flagler and Calder already have formed a political action committee, Yes for a Greater Miami-Dade.

''We believe slots at existing parimutuels is good economics for the county,'' said Ken Dunn, president of Calder, who said the track currently employs 1,000 people. ``It would allow us to reinvest capital in our facility and generate tax dollars for the state and the municipalities.''

Though Florida was one of two Southern states to introduce a state-run lottery in 1988, it has lagged behind other southeastern states in adding casino gambling. In the past 15 years, Louisiana has opened 16 riverboats and land-based casinos. Mississippi has 27 dock-side and land-based casinos. West Virginia has four racetrack casinos with slot machines and may be able to add table games after a vote on Saturday.

The trend has made gambling more acceptable in the South, as in the rest of the nation, said John M. Benson, managing director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program. Benson has studied public attitudes on gaming.

Gambling continues to become an enticing revenue source for states facing budget trouble. This year, California's Democratic-controlled Legislature agreed to give 17,000 more slot machines to four tribes' casinos in an attempt to close a $3 billion deficit. State officials expect the deal to bring in $22.4 billion in additional revenue over 25 years.

Not everyone is convinced that gambling is the way to go. Calls to Florida's compulsive gambling hot line (1-888-ADMIT-IT) were up 25 percent last year, an indication of rising gambling problems, according to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling.

And others who fought gambling in the past still see it as an ill.

Miami developer Armando Codina, a leader of the No Casinos fight in 1994, said he thinks slot machines constitute a regressive tax, pulling money from those who can least afford it. But with Jeb Bush -- who was outspoken in his opposition to gaming -- out of the governor's office, Codina believes pro-gambling forces have made progress.

''It's a harder fight this time around because we don't have the leadership of a governor who's very committed to it,'' he said. ``They've made inroads in Tallahassee and now Broward has it. But I haven't changed my mind, and I don't think the voters have changed their mind.''

Crist has said he opposes the expansion of gambling, but when asked if he will do as Bush did and campaign against the measure in Miami-Dade, he was noncommital.

''I may actually be campaigning on other things -- like a property tax cut,'' he said.