FORT LAUDERDALE -- The fight over slot machines in Broward County now will be a
courtroom showdown with dueling lawsuits at opposite ends of the state.
The county's four pari-mutuels filed suit Tuesday asking a Broward Circuit Court judge to rule
they have the legal right to start installing slot machines immediately. The move came a day
after the anti-gambling group No Casinos brought a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court asking
a judge there to forbid slots unless the state Legislature passes regulations.
No Casinos filed its lawsuit in Tallahassee as a pre-emptive move to block a decision about
slots from being made in a Broward County courtroom, said state Rep. Randy Johnson,
R-Celebration, the group's leader.
"It's fair to say that there'd be an enormous amount of pressure on a judge in Broward County
when people there just voted by a 10-percent margin to go ahead (with slots)," Johnson said. "I
knew very well that (the pari-mutuels') lawsuit was coming. It was important to get ours filed
first."
The pari-mutuels, though, appear confident the legal battle will take place in Broward County.
"Broward is the affected county. Broward is the home of the four pari-mutuels. The activity is
going to take place in Broward," said Daniel Adkins, vice president of the Hollywood
Greyhound Track. "The public voted for this and they expect to see their wishes implemented."
Adkins, the pari-mutuels' point man in the slots push, has pledged the businesses won't install
slots without some sort of governmental regulations in place. The Broward County Commission
is looking into whether it has the power to regulate slots at the pari-mutuels.
Johnson said that regardless if a Leon County judge or Broward County judge decides the slots
question, the ruling likely will be appealed and could end up in the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in November allowing Broward and
Miami-Dade counties to decide whether to allow slots at existing pari-mutuel sites. In March,
Broward County voters approved slots at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Dania Jai-Alai,
Hollywood Greyhound Track and Pompano Park Harness Track. Miami-Dade voters rejected
the machines.
The constitutional amendment called for state lawmakers to craft regulations and set tax rates
for slot machines at the most recent legislative session. The amendment specifically called for
the regulations to take effect no later than July 1.
But the session ended three weeks ago with no agreement in place over slots. Lawmakers failed
to compromise on a number of key issues including the tax rate and the type of slot machines
they should approve -- either Las Vegas-style machines or Bingo-style machines.
Frustrated by the Legislature, the pari-mutuel industry vowed the question of whether they
could have slots would be decided in the courts. Johnson and No Casinos decided to beat them
to the punch, filing their suit naming the four pari-mutuels and the state Department of Business
and Professional Regulation as defendants. The Department of Business and Professional
Regulation is the state agency responsible for enforcing the state's gaming laws.
"It became very apparent to me that the slots industry was going to attempt to write their own
regulations that would lead to the Wild West in Broward County," Johnson said. "But the
Constitution says it's the Legislature that shall create the enabling legislation."
Johnson said he was troubled by the Broward County Commission's recent discussions about
creating regulations.
The four pari-mutuels ask in their lawsuit for a judge to rule whether they are entitled to
"transport, possess, install and operate slot machines" without fear of being criminally
prosecuted. The industry's lawsuit names the Broward State Attorney's Office as the defendant,
as required by law when asking a judge to declare whether an action is legal or not.
"We're anxious to find out whether the constitutional amendment is self-implementing," said
Dick Feinberg, general manager of Pompano Park. "Obviously we think there's a good chance
that's the case."
There's no clear time frame on when a ruling might come down. With both lawsuits, the
defendants have 20 days to file responses. In addition, there will be the fight over venue.Bruce
Rogow, one of the pari-mutuels' attorneys, said he anticipates that a judge could rule quickly on
slots' legality. There are no facts in dispute, making it only a question of law, he said.
Adkins said that all four pari-mutuels have split up legal costs equally. In their lawsuit, the
pari-mutuels ask for the state to reimburse them for all taxable costs and leave the door open
for other possible monetary awards.
Courts now get a spin at slots
Judges in Broward and Leon counties will be looking at whether four parimutuel facilities can
move ahead on slot machines after the Legislature failed to write the rules.
By Amy Sherman
asherman@herald.com
Copyright © 2005, Miami Herald
Wednesday, May. 25, 2005
Broward parimutuel and anti-casino interests filed competing lawsuits this week, each asking a
judge to settle the dispute over whether three racetracks and one jai-alai fronton may install
slot machines this year.
The parimutuels want a court's approval in Broward to move forward on installing slot
machines. The No Casinos group asked a Tallahassee judge to rule that no one could go ahead
with slots until the Legislature acts.
The Tallahassee suit was filed on Monday, the Broward suit on Tuesday.
The Legislature set the stage for this legal showdown by failing to set rules for the operation of
slot machines, which were approved by Broward County voters in March.
''It's very simple,'' said Dan Adkins, an executive with Hollywood Greyhound Track who
worked on pro-slots campaigns. ``We are asking the Circuit Court in the affected county here in
Broward to basically implement the will of the people.''
The Broward lawsuit was filed by Pompano Park harness track, Dania Jai-Alai, Gulfstream
Park and Hollywood Greyhound Track against the state, in the person of Broward State
Attorney Michael Satz, whose office had not received a copy late Tuesday. State law prohibits
the possession and transportation of slot machines, and Satz is charged with enforcing that law
in Broward County.
The suit would be forwarded to the Florida Attorney General, said Satz spokesman Ron Ishoy.
A state constitutional amendment approved by voters in November allowed voting on slots in
Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and directed lawmakers to write rules for their
implementation by July 1. The slots referendum failed in Miami-Dade.
But the Legislature adjourned May 6 without acting, and slots proponents now say the
amendment is ''self-executing'' -- in other words, operators have the right to run slot machines
after July 1.
''The Plaintiffs believe that they are legally entitled to transport, install, possess and operate
slot machines at their Broward County parimutuel facilities,'' the plaintiffs' lawsuit reads, ``. . .
but Plaintiffs do not want to subject themselves to criminal prosecution or civil penalties by the
Defendant because of the uncertainty caused by the Legislature's failure to specifically act.''
The suit filed by No Casinos and state Rep. Randy Johnson, R-Winter Garden, argues the
opposite.
``. . . Unless and until the Legislature takes action, the current law in Florida, which specifically
makes it illegal to possess and operate slot machines, is in full force and effect. . . . No
governmental agency, including the Department or Broward County, can promulgate rules
relating to slots.''
The suit notes that this position was supported by a state attorney general's opinion earlier this
year.
Johnson and No Casinos are asking a Leon County judge to issue a statement that the
parimutuels must wait until the Legislature acts.
Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that he believes the fate of slot machines in Broward will be
determined by the Legislature.
If lawmakers decide to take up the issue in a special session, the governor has said it is likely to
be in the fall, when the state could get a federal waiver to revamp its Medicaid program.
''Eventually, the Legislature's going to have to pass an implementing bill to set the tax rate and
local regulation for slots in Broward County,'' Bush said.
Broward County has an agreement with the gambling-site owners that allows the county to draft
its own regulations if the state fails to do so. County officials are researching whether they can
legally set such rules.
For months, it has been clear that the pro- and anti-slots camps were likely to wind up in court.
State Senator Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, said he hopes the Broward suit is successful,
but says it is not an open-and-shut case.
''The constitutional amendment contradicts itself,'' said Geller, a key supporter of slots
legislation.
'On the one hand, it says that slot machines shall be permitted and the Legislature shall pass
implementing legislation. To be perfectly clear, it should have said `if the Legislature fails to
pass, it can open up anyhow.' It didn't say that.''
The lawsuit could affect efforts by Indian tribes to expand their existing gambling operations by
adding Class III slot machines. The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes have been discussing their
desire for expansion with Gov. Jeb Bush.
It is unlikely that any of the Broward sites will start operating slots this summer. Pompano Park,
which has moved most quickly, hopes to start construction this summer, but general manager
Dick Feinberg said the previous goal of a New Year's Eve opening was unrealistic.
''It all depends on how the legal, legislative issues ultimately get ironed out,'' he said.
Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti said the city was still trying to work with nearby parimutuels
to get reimbursement for future impacts such as increased traffic and public-safety costs.
''We [Hollywood] should not be involved at all in this lawsuit,'' Hollywood Mayor Mara
Giulianti said. ``This is certainly not our battle.''
Herald staff writer Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.