First slots bill allows only electronic bingo in Broward

By Linda Kleindienst Tallahassee Bureau Chief Posted April 1 2005 TALLAHASSEE -- Broward County voters last month approved slot machines for their local pari-mutuel venues, but the first slots bill to clear a committee in the state Legislature would allow only electronic bingo. And, instead of using the taxes on gambling profits for students around the state, the Republican-led committee said the money must instead go to a lottery fund to pay off school construction debts. Prompting frustration and disbelief by gambling proponents, the measure adopted by the House Business Regulation Committee Thursday night limits Broward's four pari-mutuels to installing machines that are akin to video lottery terminals already in play at Indian casinos in the state and provide far less profit. The deciding vote was cast by Miami Rep. Marco Rubio, an outspoken opponent of slot machines. "No question the voters in Broward knew what they were voting for. Any 8-year-old on the street knows what a slot machine is," said Dan Adkins, vice president of Hollywood Greyhound and leader of the slots referendum push. "But the fact of the matter is, this is the first stop on the road and there's a long way to go." The constitutional amendment approved by state voters last fall requires all the tax money raised from slot machines to go to education. The House bill gives Broward schools a $4.5 million bonus, but pumps the rest of the tax dollars into a state lottery fund to pay down the debt on a 1997 $2.7 billion school construction program. Slots backers, including Broward lawmakers, are hoping for major changes before the bill hits the House floor and are betting on support from state senators who appear ready to define slots as Class III Las Vegas-style gaming and want to put the money into educational enhancement programs. The Senate is expected to take up its own bill Tuesday. "Right now it looks like Broward vs. the state," said Rep. Ron Greenstein, D-Coconut Creek. "This bill is so screwed up. We're losing sight of why this constitutional amendment was passed. It was all about education. But when it gets to the floor it will be totally different." Tuesday marked the Legislature's first stab at a plan to tax and regulate the voter-approved expansion of gaming at Gulfstream Park, Hollywood Dog Track, Dania Jai-Alai and Pompano Harness Track. Both the House and Senate plans must work their way through committee and then get approval from the full House and Senate, with any differences worked out before the Legislature's scheduled adjournment on May 6. "Broward voters will be disappointed, but they should hold their powder until the final product is done," said Jim Horne, a former state education commissioner who has been a leading spokesman for the slots campaign. "This is what they call making sausage up here. It's not always pretty." Although the bill passed unanimously out of the House committee, the decision to describe slot machines as Class II or electronic bingo was done by an amendment approved in a 10-9 vote when Rubio, the House Procedure and Policy chairman, broke the tie. "The (slots) campaign was run under the assumption that they would give competition to the Indian casinos," said Rubio, R-Miami. "This will provide the competition." Rubio aggressively campaigned against slots alongside Gov. Jeb Bush in Miami-Dade, voicing concerns that allowing Las Vegas-style slots in Broward would enable the Indians to follow suit in casinos across the state. Since voters approved the slots amendment to the state Constitution last fall, both the Miccosukee and Seminole Indian tribes have requested the governor to enter negotiations. Under federal law, the tribes are allowed to seek agreements that give them whatever kind of gambling is allowed in the state. But Bush has been stonewalling the negotiation requests, hoping to stave-off full-fledged casinos on Indian reservations. The amendment to limit what kind of gaming Broward and the Indians can have was sponsored by Rep. Juan Zapata, a Miami Republican who has had a long-standing feud with the Miccosukees. The tribe angered several of Miami-Dade's Hispanic lawmakers, including Rubio, when it put up a candidate to challenge Zapata in last fall's election. While the House bill proposes a tax rate that ranges from 30 percent for facilities that have 1,000 or fewer machines to 45 percent for those that have between 2,000 and 3,000 machines, the Senate is expected to call for a tax rate of about 35 percent. Even though it calls for Class II machines, which are not as profitable as Las Vegas-style slots, the House plan calls for Broward's pari-mutuels to ante up almost double what they expected in taxes. Gambling proponents had promised to provide $438 million for Florida's public schools -- but only if voters in Broward and Miami-Dade approved slots. Even though a legislative economist told lawmakers that slot machines in Broward alone would raise only $300 million under the best-case scenario, House leaders want to hold the county accountable for the full amount. Although Miami-Dade is prohibited by the Constitution from voting on slots for another two years, Flagler Dog Track has asked the county for a new election based on newly revealed voting problems. An analysis by the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections office showed that 1,246 ballots did not record a vote in the March 8 special slots election, 477 of the non-votes being the direct result of a coding error by election workers. But Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess said he sees no reason for another vote. "Even if (the under votes) all swung one way, they didn't remotely come close to affecting the outcome of the election," he said. "I can't understand the basis for the request. Would they have asked if they had won?" The House slots measure, which must next go to the Finance and Tax Committee, would allow the pari-mutuels to operate their slot machines for 12 hours a day during the week and 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday, 365 days a year. It does not allow ATMs near the slots area. A major controversy brewing within the pari-mutuel industry is how much of the slots profits, if any, the state should dictate be used to enhance purses at the county's tracks and fronton. Florida purses have lagged behind those offered by most other states where slot machine revenues are helping to beef up once sagging pari-mutuel earnings. "Our good Florida horses will ship north to where the purses are the highest," said Kent Stirling, head of the Florida Horsemen's Benevolent Association, which represents 5,000 horse owners and trainers. "And our industry, one of the largest in Florida, will be dealt a devastating blow, if not a death blow." Staff Writer Sarah Talalay contributed to this report. Linda Kleindienst can be reached at lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214.