Slot Machines' Jackpot of Worms
An Editorial
Lakeland Ledger
Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Last November, Florida's voters opened a huge can of worms: They approved a constitutional amendment that would allow voters in South Florida counties to decide whether to permit slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities.

Most voters probably imagined that dog tracks, horse tracks and jai-alai frontons would simply add the one-arm bandits to help draw some additional trade. After all, owners of those facilities have complained that their business has suffered. Some customers have turned to the state lottery. The pari-mutuels also face competition from gambling-cruise ships and Indian reservations.

The issue was narrowly approved, with supporters emphasizing that the money raised would help fund education.

But the slot machines won't be placed only in frontons and race tracks. The Miami Herald reported recently that the pari-mutuel owners have teamed up with the gambling industry to expand their present facilities to make slot machines a big attraction.

Testifying before the House Business Regulation Committee this month, a state economist said the planned slot-expansion projects are far more ambitious that what was imagined before the November vote.

While economists thought the tracks and frontons would be retrofitted with slot machines -- as has been done in other states -track owners are planning to build new facilities, complete with hotels.

"We never assumed that you would end up with what they're actually talking about," Amy Baker, director of the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told the committee.

Indian tribes contend that slot machines have been approved for Florida as a form of gambling and that they are entitled to use them on reservations. The Miccosukee tribe has asked Gov. Jeb Bush to begin negotiations about expanding slot machines to its reservations. Under federal law, the state has until mid-year to respond. Bush is taking his time, calling the situation "very complicated stuff."

On Monday, the Florida PTA announced it will fight to defeat issues on the March 8 ballot in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties that would permit slot machines. "We don't think there will be as much money as they say, and we don't think we'll get it," Latha Krishnaiyer, past president of the Broward and state PTAs told The Miami Herald. "We think education should be funded through a dedicated source -- not gambling."

The gambling proponents and South Florida counties wanted to move quickly on the issue. The vote is being held on the same day that the Legislature opens its regular session. It's still up to Tallahassee to produce the legislation that will determine what a slot machine is and how the profits are to be divided among the counties.

"We're really in the dark here," Florida PTA Vice President Karen Brown told a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel after Monday's press conference. "Nothing is set as to what percentage of tax revenues will go to education, or whether they'll be tearing down the pari-mutuels to build gambling casinos."

While the Broward County teachers' union supports the slot machine referendum (and is more likely to get some of the funds as one of the counties with the machines), Broward School Board Chairwoman Stephanie Kraft is against them because she believes the county should get a bigger share.

Florida's parents and teachers aren't the only ones realizing that slot machines offer a false promise. Elected officials are now questioning how funds might be apportioned out. Fort Lauderdale, Davie and Plantation have passed resolutions asking the election be delayed for more information.

Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti is even more upset. While other cities near Hollywood will share in the slots revenue, Hollywood isn't slated to get anything. While the city has no parimutuel facility, Giulianti said mutual-aid agreements require Hollywood dispatch emergency workers to pari-mutuel operations near the city.

She said she and other city officials had been told that Hollywood would be taken care of. "I'm disappointed," she told The Herald. "I feel lied to by all of them."

"It's not fair," Giulianti said. "Right now, the people don't understand that it could cost them money, not save them money."

From what state economists are saying, slot machines in South Florida could wind up costing counties elsewhere -- including Polk County -- tourist revenue.