Casino Opponents See Next Battle Coming over State Constitution

Casino Opponents See Next Battle Coming over State Constitution
By: Jim Turner

Opponents of the effort to expand casino gaming in Florida declared victory Friday, but anticipate they will next have to fend off an effort to put gambling venues into the state’s Constitution.

Dan Gelber, chairman of No Casinos, said with casino-giant Genting Group having spent $624,000 on just political contributions through December, the proposal to allow the construction of nontribal mega-casinos isn’t going away.

“These guys have so much money that they are going to do whatever they think it will take to make this terrible idea a reality,” Gelber said. “They’re going to reload and come back with bigger guns.”

On Friday, with a negative vote anticipated from the Florida House Subcommittee on Consumer and Business Affairs, Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, agreed to temporarily postpone his bill, HB 487, which called for the creation of a statewide gaming commission and allow the construction of at least three mega-casinos.

Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, the author of the Senate version of the bill, SB 710, was not immediately available for comment.SB 710 hasn’t moved since the Regulated Industries Committee gave its support to the proposal on Jan. 9.

David Hart, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, expects the proposal will return before the Legislature next year. But he, too, anticipates backers of the casino effort -- particularly Genting, which agreed to purchase the Miami Herald property that overlooks Biscayne Bay for $236 million last May -- to seek a change in the state Constitution.

“Our state is a great market for them. They need Florida, Florida doesn’t need them here,” Hart said. “I can imagine they’ll probably hire paid petition gatherers to be on the 2014 ballot to change Florida’s Constitution.”

In order to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, a group must collect the signatures of at least 8 percent of the votes cast in the prior presidential election -- which, based on the 2008 contest, would mean 676,811 signatures, with petitions collected from within at least half the state’s congressional districts.

The group seeking to make the ballot change must also pay up to 10 cents per signature for verification costs.

A representative for Resorts World Miami, a division of Genting, said they will continue to pursue the casino option, but would outline how they would proceed.

“Hopefully we’ll be here in one form or fashion to bring destination resorts back,” said Jessica Hoppe, senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel, Resorts World Miami.

In the meantime, the company will move forward with developing the Herald property as a hotel with 300 employees, she said.

“We are moving forward. We want to look at all the issues that exist,” Hoppe said.

A Mason-Dixon poll conducted Jan. 24-26 for the Miami Herald found that Democrats support the idea by 46 percent to 37 percent, while it was opposed by Republicans 38 percent to 53 percent.

Gelber and Hart said their outfits could have supported the idea of establishing a statewide agency to regulate the state’s already vast array of gaming options. But, they both noted that was not the intent of the bill.

“The regulation part of it was the lipstick on the pig,” Gelber said. “I’m glad the Legislature saw through this notice that it wasn’t about controlling gambling. That was quickly dispensed as a PR move and not reality.”

Opponents of the bill, ranging from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater to No Casinos, which served as an umbrella for groups such as the Chamber, argued the casinos would cut into the family-friendly image of the state and divert tourist dollars from existing businesses rather than attract more people to Florida.

Other opponents include the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Florida Retail Federation and Disney. Proponents, which included Associated Industries of Florida and various construction-related outfits in South Florida, have seen the bills as construction and long-term job creators.

AIF on Friday called for the Senate to continue to move SB 710 forward.

“The construction and operation of three Florida destination resorts will open up employment opportunities for nearly 100,000 Floridians, helping us move almost 10 percent of the state’s jobless off the unemployment rolls,” stated Brewster Bevis, AIF vice president of external relations.

“Destination resorts will also bring a minimum $6 billion in upfront, private-sector investment that will help jump-start our economy. Additionally, this proposal will add strong regulation to Florida’s gaming structure and result in a net reduction in slot operations in the state.

“Today, the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee heard testimony from people across the state who support the jobs and economic opportunity the destination resort industry will bring Florida. We appreciate the subcommittee’s time and thoughtful consideration of the views shared today. On behalf of Florida’s business community, we encourage the Legislature and Florida Senate, which still has a destination resorts bill in motion, to continue the dialogue on this important proposal.”

Hart said that with the defeat of the destination resort bill in the House, the Florida Chamber of Commerce says legislators can now focus on issues that matter: workers’ comp rates, unemployment taxes on employers and creating jobs.