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Will Florida Become a Vegas State?
Over time, the state almost certainly can expect pressure for slots from the 19 pari-mutuels outside Broward and Miami-Dade -- particularly those where wagering is anemic. "There's a number of them that have hung on that are hoping for it," says Florida pari-mutuel division director David Roberts. Five entities hold jai alai or track licenses for inactive operations. One operator, R. Glenn Richards, a Jacksonville-based developer, opened a pari-mutuel fronton, the first in 27 years, in a strategic spot near the Georgia border with hopes for slots ["Long-Term Bets," page 91].
State Rep. Randy Johnson, R-Celebration, the former No Casinos chair who's running for state chief financial officer, fears the state is on a fast track to becoming one big casino. "We're clearly one step away from the total statewide expansion of gambling in Florida. There's no question about that."
No Casinos still plans to fight to roll back the 2004 amendment for Miami-Dade, although "our coffers are pretty dry right now," Sublette says.
But statewide casino gambling has been predicted, erroneously, for years. And Johnson might be comforted by the thoughts of Solomon, the Isle executive, who says, "I wouldn't want to bet on" a statewide gambling expansion. Pawlina adds that even getting slots in all the pari-mutuels in the state in 10 years "would be a long shot. It was hard enough to get it going in Broward."
