Casino bill dealt a losing hand after criticism

By Kathleen Haughney
© Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A major effort to sprinkle Las Vegas-style casinos throughout Florida is no longer a safe bet, a top lawmaker said Tuesday.

State Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, who has spearheaded the Senate's gaming efforts the past few years, is withdrawing a proposal to bring five "destination resorts" to the state that would have featured full casino gaming.

The decision, in the face of fierce behind-the-scenes opposition from the state's pari-mutuel industry, likely ends the possibility of any major gambling expansion this year.

Jones' bill died after Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, attached an amendment that would have allowed South Florida pari-mutuels to also operate as casinos -- with table games and craps in addition to slot machines -- with a tax rate identical to any future destination casinos.

"I had no interest in that whatsoever," Jones said, adding that his bill was intended solely to bring vacation and convention business to Florida, not to expand gambling at pari-mutuel facilities.

The measure had also been opposed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which now operates the only casinos in the state under a five-year, $250 million agreement signed last year. Under that agreement, the tribe can have slot machines, blackjack and other card games -- but not craps.

Resorts like Las Vegas Sands have been lobbying the state for the past several years to open its doors to Vegas-style casinos. Las Vegas Sands, which has resorts in Las Vegas, Singapore, Macau and Bethlehem, makes about one-third of its profit from gaming. The rest comes from hotel rooms, shows and restaurants on site.

Jones and other lawmakers seemed interested in the prospect of bringing big casinos to the state to attract conventions and high-rolling vacationers. But the pari-mutuels -- whose horse and dog tracks are now open largely because of slot machines and poker rooms -- fought the plan.

Dan Adkins, vice president of Mardi Gras gaming in Hollywood, said it was simply a matter of parity: If "destination" casinos were allowed, the pari-mutuels should be allowed to match their gaming offerings. The issue is worth looking at going forward, he added.

"I think the issue needs to be addressed and everyone needs to take a step back and the industry needs to talk," he said.

Backers of destination casinos are still holding out hope. Similar bills have been filed by state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, and Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-North Miami Beach. But supporters acknowledge they will be a tough sell, particularly in a conservative House that has fought gaming expansion in the past.

Braynon's bill is set for a Senate committee hearing next week, but the House measure may die in a logistical snafu. The proposal was assigned to a subcommittee that House Speaker Dean Cannon disbanded after its chair, Rep. Esteban Bovo, R-Hialeah, resigned last week to run for the Miami-Dade County Commission. Cannon, who is largely anti-gaming, would need to reassign the bill to a new committee for it to move forward.

Fresen said he hopes to speak with Cannon later this week about allowing the bill to proceed. "I wouldn't say the chances are high, but we're not six feet under," Fresen said.

Cannon's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to a legislative staff analysis, 13 other states allow commercial casinos. The state's Revenue Estimating Conference has not officially estimated the revenue impact of new casinos, but casino representatives estimate that they would increase corporate income tax and sales tax collections by about $52 million a year.