Las Vegas-style slots are coming to South Florida even if voters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties say no
to them on March 8, according to some legal scholars.
When voters statewidein November approved a constitutional amendment giving the two counties the right to
decide whether they wanted slots at seven racetracks and jai alai frontons, they paved the way for the state's
two Indian tribes to trade the video slots at their casinos for the real thing, said Bruce Rogow, a Nova
Southeastern University law school professor who helped the tribes win the right to open their gaming halls.
According to federal law, casinos on tribal land are allowed to offer whatever forms of gambling are permitted
in the state, he said.
"The Florida Constitution now permits slots," Rogow said. "Whether the counties OK it or not is irrelevant."
I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in California, agreed.
"Now clearly (the tribes) have the right to have slots," said Rose, a gambling-law expert.
Such views are becoming an important subplot to the expensive and acrimonious battle unfolding in Broward
and Miami-Dade counties and that will soon grip the state legislature.
With fewer than 10 days remaining before voters decide what would be the biggest expansion of gambling in
state history, Gov. Jeb Bush recently has toughened his long-standing opposition to gambling.
In a letter to the Christian Coalition of South Florida, he decried gambling, saying any expansion of it would
lead to a "long-term decay of our traditional industries and the social fabric of our communities."
However, Rogow, Nelson and others say that unless Bush wants to be remembered as the governor who cost
the state millions — potentially billions — in revenue, he will have to start working with the Seminole and
Miccosukee tribes to put slots at their six casinos from Miami to Tampa.
If he doesn't negotiate with the tribes, they can go to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the
Indian Gaming Act. If that happens, Bush would lose the chance to talk with the tribes about sharing some of
their gambling profits with the state.
Such deals, known as revenue-sharing agreements, last year generated $635.4 billion for seven states,
according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
While controversial among some tribal leaders, who view the payments as extortion, others argue that the
compacts, if negotiated fairly, are beneficial to both the states and the tribes.
States that have given the tribes exclusive rights to gambling generate the most cash. In Connecticut, for
instance, where tribes have no competition from private casinos, the state expects to pocket $345 million this
year, according to conference estimates. In New Mexico, where slots are permitted at privately owned
racetracks, the state expects to receive $34.7 million.
Rogow said that eventually Bush will see that he has to negotiate with Florida's two tribes.
"As this thing unfolds you'll see that the governor, while not pleased, will have to acknowledge that it has to
happen, that it's beyond his control," he said. "The tribes are in the driver's seat on this."
No guarantees, opponents warn
However, Bush is making no such acknowledgements as he joins the heated fight to keep slots out of
racetracks and frontons in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
In the letter to the Christian Coalition, he said: "Under Federal law, revenue generated by the tribes' slots
may never be taxed by the state."
But Rogow and Nelson point out that is largely a matter of semantics. While taxes aren't allowed, revenue
sharing is, and to voters both mean the same thing: money.
It is a belief in voters' desire for more money to pay for services that is driving the slots campaign in
Miami-Dade and Broward.
Using pictures of schoolchildren, gambling industry officials say their fight for slots isn't to shore up their
sagging racetracks and frontons. Rather, they insist, it is a way for voters to get $500 million in new revenue
to shore up the state's dismal education system.
Opponents, meanwhile, counter that there are no guarantees and fault the industry for pushing for the
election on the same day the legislative session begins.
"The parimutuels are promising the moon and the sun and everything in between because the legislature has
not acted," said Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs, the only commissioner to vote against putting the
issue on the ballot.
She said the industry has courted support from local governments by promising to give each of the two
counties $15 million annually and cities where tracks and frontons are located as much as $17 million a year.
Until the legislature sets the rules — decides how many slots each venue can have, what the tax rate will be,
operating hours and myriad other issues — there is no way to know if slots will generate the $500 million
annually that the industry has promised, Jacobs and other opponents contend.
Further, they say, the money could be used for a variety of education-related purposes that would do little to
help public schools. Already some key state lawmakers have talked about using the money for private-school
vouchers or pre-kindergarten programs at private schools.
"Education is very broad," Jacobs said. "They could use it in a way that does not in any way benefit public
education."
'We aren't the lottery'
To prevent that, the parimutuels last week agreed to establish a $2.5 million legal defense fund, said Daniel
Atkins, executive vice president of the Hollywood Greyhound Race Track.
If the legislature tries to use the money for programs that would not benefit public schools, such as vouchers,
he said, the group would sue.
The legal defense fund is just a small part of the money the industry is spending.
Having already spent more than $15 million to sell the constitutional amendment in the fall, as of Feb. 11 the
parimutuels had contributed $3.7 million to promote the March 8 campaign, "Yes for Better Schools and
Jobs."
Opponents, meanwhile, haven't filed any financial disclosure reports. Longtime Broward County political
activist Dan Lewis said he had bankrolled early efforts himself but expected contributions would begin rolling
in soon.
But, in a stinging blow that Lewis branded "entertaining mischief," Atkins stole what was to be the name of
Lewis' political organization. Upset that Lewis was using the name "Remember the Lottery" but hadn't
registered it with the Florida Division of Elections, Atkins registered it himself and said he plans to use it to
solicit contributions to pass the slots issue.
"We want people to remember the lottery," he said of the 1986 issue that was sold to voters as a way to
supplement education. "We aren't the lottery. The money will be used to supplement, not replace, education
funding."
But regardless of how much either group raises for the March 8 campaign, most agree it pales in comparison
to the amount that will be spent during the upcoming legislative session.
Already, dozens of the state's best-known lobbyists have been hired to push their agendas through the
legislature.
On the pro-gambling side, for instance, are such heavyweights as longtime Miami lobbyist Ron Book and
former state Education Commissioner Jim Horne.
Gambling opponents have hired former Bush campaign manager J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich and Bush's former
legislative director, Jim Magill.
Tax rate point of contention
Both sides readily agree the issue is going to be among the most contentious of the legislative session.
Longtime gambling proponent Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, has set the stage for debate by filing a
bill that would set the tax rate at 30 percent and set aside another $75 per student for Broward and
Miami-Dade counties.
Opponents question the low rate, arguing that other states, notably New York and Illinois, tax their casinos in
the 70 percent range.
"It's a floor, not a ceiling," Geller said. "I don't expect it to remain at 30 percent." But, he warned, if
lawmakers get too greedy the entire scheme could backfire.
"Do we want to get every single dime out of it or do we want to have nice facilities that will attract tourists?"
he said.
New York's high tax rate has prevented casino owners from moving in because it leaves them little money to
build fancy resorts, so they can't compete against Indian gaming halls that pay far less to the state.
Such experiences in other states will make Florida's tribes a powerful if not active part of the debate, said
Rogow, the Nova law professor.
And eventually, he predicted, they will be invited to the table.
"Bush may be waiting to see the outcome of the local elections and see what the legislature does," he said,
"and to use that as a model to negotiate with the tribes."
But, he said, it's doubtful the tribes are worried.
"I think they are holding a nice hand of cards."