Gambling fight framed as money vs. morality

State Sen. Steve Geller has a simple reason why he thinks voters on Nov. 2 will overwhelmingly agree to allow casino gambling in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. "Everyone north of Orlando thinks Dade and Broward counties are Sodom and Gomorrah, and this would raise a half-billion dollars in state revenue," the Broward County Democrat said. "If there was something on the ballot that said, 'Should people be allowed to sell heroin on the streets in Dade and Broward County?' they'd OK that, too. They'd think, 'Why not? It can't get any worse down there.' " With proponents pledging that future taxes on gambling would raise an estimated $450 million to pump up the state's struggling education system, Geller and others ask, what's not to like for those who live miles away from the state's two most populous counties? Amendment 4 ballot summary Authorizes Miami-Dade and Broward counties to hold referenda on whether to authorize slot machines in existing, licensed pari-mutuel facilities (thoroughbred and harness racing, greyhound racing and jai-alai) that have conducted live racing or games in that county during each of the past two calendar years before effective date of this amendment. The legislature may tax slot-machine revenues, and any such taxes must supplement public education funding statewide. Requires implementing legislation. Not surprisingly, opponents including the Christian Coalition, animal-welfare groups, law-enforcement associations and even the Florida Chamber of Commerce say there's plenty to give voters pause. While it is billed as a way to painlessly prop up education, opponents claim the measure will have ripple effects throughout Florida. "These people are a scourge," state Rep. Randy Johnson, R-Winter Garden, said of out-of-state casino interests who are pushing the amendment's passage. "They are a cancer." While the measure would allow casino gambling only at seven existing pari-mutuel venues in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, it also would allow the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes to replace less-lucrative video-slot machines at their six casinos with Vegas-style slots. The tribes' casinos — including those in Hillsborough and Collier counties — would bring casino gambling and all the woes that go with it to millions of voters who think the measure would affect only South Florida, Johnson said. Further, he said, all state residents will pay a hefty price to regulate the casinos. And all will pay the price to imprison or rehabilitate those who fall victim to the lure of the one-arm bandits. "Fifteen percent of the folks who become addicted to gambling end up in prison," said Paul Seago, executive director of No Casinos Inc., a political action committee formed to defeat the measure. "All taxpayers will pay for that." Out-of-state donors The venom spewed by opponents is considerable. From broken marriages, to crime run rampant, to the collapse of the state's family-friendly tourist industry — all are arguments they use to try to defeat the issue. However, Geller points out, it's hard to get the message out if you don't have any money. According to No Casinos' most recent campaign-finance report, its sole contribution came Sept. 12, when the Humane Society of the United States contributed $50,000. Floridians for a Level Playing Field, the political committee backing the amendment, has raised more than $10 million since Jan. 1 and $14.2 million since it was formed four years ago, according to state records. That pro-gambling forces have raised so much money shouldn't come as a surprise, Johnson said. The effort is bankrolled by the owners of racetracks and jai-alai frontons who would benefit from passage of the measure and outside gambling operators, such as Biloxi, Miss.-based Isle of Capri Casino, who are frothing at the possibility of setting up shop in Florida. "They're betting $15 million to get seven casinos and win billions," he said. Further, he said of his group's lack of cash, "It's not all about money. It's never been about money. This is a grass-roots effort. It's a community-based effort." Johnson's group unveiled its first television ad Monday — the same day it got the disappointing news that a judge in Tallahassee would wait until after the election to hear arguments challenging the validity of signatures gathered to put the measure on the ballot. The ad, Johnson said, will begin running statewide in the next week to compete against the spots proponents have been airing. The problem for No Casinos is twofold: getting cash to air the ad and then finding time slots that aren't already taken by other campaigns in the jam-packed presidential election. Without saying where the money is coming from, Johnson said his group expects an infusion of cash soon. Likely supporters would seem to be the owners of other pari-mutuels, particularly those in Palm Beach County who would be hard-hit if they had to compete against full-blown casinos in Broward and Miami-Dade. No one from the Palm Beach Kennel Club or Princess Casino Line, the only pari-mutuel facilities in Palm Beach County, returned repeated phone calls for comment. Art Rooney, whose family owns the kennel club, last year vociferously opposed a plan to put a casino near the stadium of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team his family also owns. One of the reasons the pari-mutuel owners elsewhere in the state are remaining mum could be that they stand to profit if the amendment passes. Those backing the drive have blunted opposition by offering revenue-sharing packages to dog tracks and jai-alai frontons outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Geller said. Earl Bender, campaign manager for the pro-gambling PAC, said such discussions have been held, but he wasn't privy to the details. Tribes 'could win both ways' Jim Shore, legal counsel to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said the tribe opposes the measure. The Seminoles have five casinos in the state — two in Broward County and one each in Collier, Glades and Hillsborough. The Miccosukee Tribe has a casino in southern Miami-Dade County. However, because federal law allows the tribes to have the same kind of gambling permitted elsewhere in the state, the Seminole operations won't be hurt if the amendment passes. "We could win both ways," he conceded. Seago said his group hopes Floridians won't be duped by the latest attempt to bring Las Vegas-style gambling to the state. In 1978, 1986 and 1994, voters rejected similar efforts. To be successful, those backing the amendment have to convince voters that this time the issue isn't about gambling, it's about education. While acknowledging there are no easy ways to solve the education money crunch, Johnson said those backing the amendment are simply seizing onto Floridians' concerns about the quality of their schools to bring an even greater ill to the state. "If we spent the money to put a man on the moon, it wouldn't be about NASA," he said. "If we sent the money to Scripps to find a cure for the common cold, it wouldn't be about health care. It's about gambling. That's all it's about. Gambling."