TALLAHASSEE -- Under protest, Gov. Jeb Bush said he will sign into law rules allowing for Las
Vegas-style slot machines in four Fort Lauderdale area betting sites.
The instillation of the machines will conclude a long battle between supporters who argue that
their revenue will save the parks and those morally opposed to gambling, including the governor.
The affected locations, which have been beset by declining attendance, are thoroughbred
racing's Gulfstream Park, Dania Jai-Alai, Pompano Park harness racing and Hollywood
Greyhound Track.
The battle over state law began last year when voters statewide passed an initiative allowing
Broward and Miami-Dade counties to decide whether they should allow slot machines. Broward
voters earlier this year approved slots, but Miami-Dade voters rejected them.
The Legislature was supposed to pass regulations for the slots during its annual session last
spring, but failed. In a special session that ended Thursday, the state House and Senate passed
the regulations that include one of the highest slot machine taxes in the country and a limit of
1,500 machines at each site.
Bush said he would sign the bill because he doesn't have much choice. The courts were prepared
to let the slots be installed without state action, because of the Broward voters' approval.
"It's not going to feel good," Bush said. "I just don't think this is right for our state. ... The fact
that there's going to be a bunch of slot machines in Broward County doesn't warm my heart."
The machines should be installed by summer.
The pari-mutuel facilities will pay a 50 percent tax on profits from the machines, which will raise
an estimated $200 million to $300 million a year for public schools statewide.
Of eight states that have approved slots at pari-mutuels, only two have a higher tax rate --
Rhode Island and New York, which have each set a 61 percent rate.
Vegas-style slots are already available to Florida gamblers onboard ships that take passengers
three miles out to sea, outside state jurisdiction. In addition, gambling machines that resemble
slot machines but are based on bingo are already operating at Indian casinos in the state. Under
separate federal law, the Indian casinos will now be able to negotiate with the state on installing
slot machines of their own.
Slots Bill Raising Concerns
by Victoria Langley
Capital News Service
Friday, December 09, 2005
With the ceremonial hanky drop that ended this week’s special session, lawmakers passed a bill
to regulate the slot machines that are coming to Broward County. The bill opens the door to Las
Vegas-style games on tribal lands too.
Representative Juan Zapata is one of several lawmakers who think voters should get to
reconsider whether they actually want that much gambling in Florida.
“I think a lot of folks voted on it, saying oh, it’s only going to be Broward,” the Miami
republican said. “They didn’t really take the Indian gaming into account on how that would
impact the whole process.”
But the move to repeal the slots amendment voters approved in 2004 is angering others.
Representative Curtis Richardson doesn’t like the expansion of gambling, but says voters
obviously felt differently.
“Whether we agree with it or not, who are we to second-guess the citizens of the state of
Florida?” said the Tallahassee democrat.
Some lawmakers believe there’s a silver lining to the slots bill. Florida can now negotiate the
best deal it can get with the Seminoles and Miccosukees.
“We now have an opportunity to have more revenue for our citizens for a myriad of issues –
health care, education, other issues that our citizens care about,” said Rep. Ed Jennings of
Gainesville.
Even if voters do repeal the slots amendment, legal experts believe the tribes will still be able to
keep the one-armed bandits it now allows.
The bill regulating slots bans ATMs in casinos and limits hours of operation to 16 hours a day.
What to expect in new era
Legal gambling has been present in South Florida since the 1930s, but the Legislature's approval of slot machines ushers in a whole new era.
By Erika Bolstad
ebolstad@herald.com
© 2005 Herald.com
Saturday, December 10, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Legislature ushered in a new era in Broward County's long history of gambling this week by agreeing to regulations that allow slot machines at three racetracks and a jai-alai fronton.
Local leaders in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Aventura were disappointed when a deal dissolved that would have cut them in on gambling profits.
State leaders grumbled about even having to address what they see as a uniquely Broward issue, and conservative Republicans begrudged Broward their votes in favor of gambling.
By the time the bill passed Thursday, the message was clear from Gov. Jeb Bush and individual Republican lawmakers who oppose the expansion of gambling: Broward voted for slots and will have them. But most legislators don't like them and will fight to keep them out of the rest of the state.
''I'd rather be creating jobs in an area where the human condition was improved,'' Bush said Friday when he visited a Fort Lauderdale medical company that manufactures diabetes-testing equipment. ``Having said that, the voters did approve this.''
The governor is expected to sign the bill. Here are some answers about what's next.
Q: Where will the slot machines be and how soon?
A: Four Broward parimutuels qualify for slot machines: Dania Jai-Alai in Dania Beach, Gulfstream Park racetrack and Hollywood Greyhound Track in Hallandale Beach, and Pompano Park harness track in Pompano Beach.
The parimutuel unit of the state Division of Business and Professional Regulation will be responsible for drafting the technical rules. As soon as May, or 180 days after the bill takes effect, the parimutuels may obtain a temporary permit to begin operating.
If the rules are completed earlier, it may be possible for slots to begin operation sooner, but parimutuel owners acknowledge that it could take several months to revamp their facilities into casinos. Some of the parimutuels, such as Gulfstream, are already in the midst of major expansions that will accommodate slot machines. Others, like Hollywood Greyhound Track, have been waiting to see what the Legislature will do but as soon as Monday could begin renovations.
The owners of Pompano Park have a $400 million line of credit for expanding the track into a casino, hotel and entertainment complex, track executive Allan Solomon said. But they will be rethinking how much money to put into the projects, depending on what kind of rate of return they believe they'll see on the 50 percent tax rate established last week.
''We still want to provide an entertainment venue in addition to slot machines, but we'll have to revisit it,'' he said. ``We're still optimistic.''
Q: What will the parimutuels be like with slots?
A:They will look more like casinos. The state authorized a total of 6,000 machines at the four parimutuels, which will be allowed to operate 16 hours a day, every day of the year. They will still offer racing or jai-alai, as well as off-track betting and poker rooms.
The parimutuels are not allowed to offer free alcoholic beverages or sell drinks any more cheaply in slots areas than elsewhere in the facility.
Parimutuels won't be allowed to cash any kind of checks or have automated teller machines.
Q: What kind of slot machines are they?
A: The slot machines are Las Vegas-style, not the bingo-style machines currently offered at Indian casinos in Florida. They must come from certified vendors, be tested for fairness, and pay out a minimum of 85 cents for every dollar gamblers put in. The payout rate is over the lifetime of the machine. It's not a daily guarantee.
The machines will accept only paper money, tickets or electronic cards that gamblers could load with money. They will not accept credit cards or debit cards. Payouts will be in the form of tickets that can be exchanged for cash, merchandise or other items of value.
Q: What will the taxes from slot machines pay for?
A: The state will collect 50 percent of the net profits from slot machines as taxes. In the first year of operation, that could amount to more than $100 million. Parimutuel owners unhappy with the rate say they will try to roll it back in coming legislative sessions.
Under the constitutional amendment, the money must supplement the state's education budget in Florida. It will be set aside in a trust fund and lawmakers will decide during the regular session how to spend it. Some ideas have included giving a laptop computer to every seventh-grader in Florida.
Q: Do local governments receive any money?
A: In addition to the 50 percent tax, the parimutuels have crafted agreements with three host cities -- and Broward County -- that pay them a total of 5.6 percent of the net profits to compensate for the social and traffic impacts.
An agreement fell apart that would have required the parimutuels to pay $1,000 per machine annually to be shared by cities adjacent to the parimutuels -- Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Aventura. Those cities are expected to try again during the regular legislative session.
Q: What about prize money to the horse and dog breeders and owners?
A:The parimutuels also have agreements with thoroughbred owners and breeders to share some of the proceeds from slots in the form of prize money, known as purses. They must have agreements on file with several of the state's thoroughbred owners and breeders associations before the state will grant them a license to provide slots.
Similar agreements were not worked out with jai-alai players and the owners and breeders of greyhounds and the horses raced at Pompano Park.
Parimutuel officials say they will pay out an estimated 5 percent to 10 percent from their slot revenues in prize money to horse and dog owners, breeders and jai-alai players.
Q: Are slots here to stay?
A: Some state leaders, including Bush and House Speaker Allan Bense, have discussed asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would repeal the original 2004 amendment allowing slots. It's unclear whether there is enough political support to put the issue to voters again in 2006.
Also, Bush is expected to focus on halting the spread of gambling rather than trying to turn back the clock. He is expected to begin negotiations with the state's two Indian tribes that allow them the exclusive right to offer slot machines in areas outside of Miami-Dade and Broward in exchange for persuading them not to expand to new games, such as blackjack and other Las Vegas-style casino table games.
The tribes currently do not pay taxes on the proceeds of their slots and are not subject to state regulation. In exchange for exclusivity, they might pay the state some money in taxes or agree to state regulation.
Q: What about slot machines in Miami-Dade County?
A: The constitutional amendment passed in 2004 allowed voters in Miami-Dade and Broward to decide whether they wanted slot machines. In the March 8 vote, Broward voters approved slots and Miami-Dade voters turned them down.
The owners of the three eligible Miami-Dade parimutuels are expected to ask the county's voters again in March 2007 to approve slot machines, after waiting the required two years since the previous referendum.
The three Miami-Dade facilities eligible to offer slots -- if voters were to change their minds in 2007 -- are Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens and Flagler Dog Track and Miami Jai-Alai in Miami.
Herald staff writer Niala Boodhoo contributed to this report.