Sen. Gwen Margolis Rejects Genting money. What Other Legislators Are Also Rejecting the money? And who is accepting it? Interested voters might to know?
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Senator Gwen Margolis: Legislative Hero on Ethics, Rejected Genting Check! By Geniusofdespair
State Senator Gwen Margolis got a $500 check from Genting Casinos. Remember, she is in a position to vote on Florida gambling. She has told me she returned the check. This is a troubling contribution. If Democrat Margolis got one, I am sure everyone got one. Anyone else have a State legislative hero who rejected a Genting check? Or are all the rest shills — like State Rep. Erik Fresen — willing to rake in the money and then vote?
This isn’t the first time Margolis has been on the up and up. When her Godson had a vote before the County Commission on the Miami Circle property, she (then Chair of the County Commission) recused herself. Are you listening Barbara Jordan, who voted on Florida City Commons, that her BLOOD relative was presenting (her brother) and her BLOOD relative was representing as a lobbyist (her sister). Jordan should have recused herself.
at 1:02 PM
Check Out Genting NY – For Dec 27
http://www.eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/
NY Times: S FL “Poised” for Birth of Casino Gambling? What Do They Know?
South Florida Poised for Birth of Casino Gambling
By FRED A. BERNSTEIN
Published: December 27, 2011
MIAMI — When the Florida Legislature returns from its holiday recess, it will consider a bill to allow three Las Vegas-style casino resorts to be built in the southern part of the state. Lobbyists for the gambling industry have swarmed Tallahassee, trying to ensure that the bill passes.
A developer, Genting, bought the Miami Herald building, and hopes to build Resorts World Miami, a casino-luxury hotel.But the mere possibility of casino gambling has already had an impact on commercial real estate in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The biggest single move came last May when Genting, a casino company based in Malaysia, bought the Miami Herald building, overlooking Biscayne Bay, for $236 million.
Genting released designs of what it hoped to build on the site: an extravaganza called Resorts World Miami, which in addition to a casino could have up to 5,000 guest rooms, 1,000 condominiums, 100 restaurants and luxury shops and a 3.6-acre rooftop lagoon that looks like something from “The Little Mermaid.” The project would cost $3.8 billion, according to Christian Goode, the president of Resorts World Miami. (The bill requires an investment of at least $2 billion per project.)
And last month, the CIM Group, a real estate investment company based in Los Angeles, bought a stake in a partnership that plans to develop Miami Worldcenter, a 21.9-acre mixed-use project in downtown Miami.
The partnership has received master plan zoning approval for a nine-block, 11 million-square-foot development that, according to its news release, “could easily accommodate a gaming component.”
The Miami Worldcenter site is now mostly parking lots and weeds. Plans for that development were announced in 2008, but the project was shelved when the recession hit. Sissy DeMaria, a publicist for Miami Worldcenter Associates, a joint venture between the South Florida-based Falcone Group and Centurion Partners, wrote in an e-mail that — unlike the Genting complex — “the Miami Worldcenter has all of its permits in place and is ‘shovel ready.’ ”
Already, the casino operator Las Vegas Sands has expressed interest in operating a gambling-based resort at Miami Worldcenter, Andy Abboud, the vice president for government affairs for Las Vegas Sands, wrote in an e-mail.
And Genting has continued its buying spree, spending several hundred million dollars on parcels adjacent to the Miami Herald site.
One of the purchases was the Omni, a mixed-use development that includes 1.5 million square feet — much of it a defunct mall — and a 2,700-space parking garage, where it said it could get a slot machine casino up and running in a matter of months.
Colin Au, a Genting principal, told The Miami Herald, “The Omni is what’s called a decorator-ready solution.” He said Genting was taking “a calculated risk,” in buying the properties before the Legislature has voted on the gambling bill.
Mr. Goode of Genting wrote in an e-mail that the company would develop Resorts World with or without gambling, but that the timeline would be “significantly accelerated” should the Legislature approve the casino component.
The Omni facility would resemble the Resorts World facility that opened at Aqueduct racetrack in Queens in October with some 5,000 video “slot machines” and electronic games, including baccarat tables managed by robotic dealers. Genting estimated that the proposed casino at the Omni would create 5,000 jobs, while its entire Resorts World project would create about 30,000.
But the mega-resorts could be bad news for established businesses in the Miami area, because they tend to provide their customers with everything they need under one roof.
“They’re going to be saying, ‘Here’s a free room, go downstairs and gamble,’ ” said Marty Z. Margulies, a prominent South Florida developer, explaining why other area hotels might lose business from gambling, rather than gain it.
The development of one or both resorts could also threaten the Miami Beach Convention Center, which at 640,000 square feet is considered too small for many gatherings. Genting plans to include some 700,000 square feet of meeting space in its Resorts World complex, while the Miami Worldcenter developers have floated the number 1.5 million square feet.
Either would be serious competition for the Miami Beach facility, which each year hosts Art Basel. It was once the nation’s fourth-largest center but is now the 27th largest.
In part to compete with the possible newcomers, Miami Beach is considering an expansion of its center. The giant firm Arquitectonica (which is also designing the Resorts World complex) was hired by the city to study the possibility of doubling the size of the convention center; its report estimated the cost of the project at $648 million.
It is unclear where Miami Beach will get the money. The city manager, Jorge M. Gonzalez, has been meeting with potential partners, one of whom, the casino magnate Steve Wynn, offered to pay the entire cost of the new center if he could build his own casino near it, according to news reports.
But just two weeks ago, the Miami Beach Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to oppose the gambling expansion. (The state law would require local approval before a casino can be built.) The vote brought cheers from a standing-room-only crowd, which included local business owners.
One major hotelier said the decision could put Miami Beach at a disadvantage. “If casinos are approved for the city of Miami, Miami Beach should have the opportunity to have casino gaming in a luxury resort right on the beach,” said Phil Goldfarb, the president of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, which with 1,500 rooms is by far the city’s largest hotel.
Gambling’s effect on residential property values is another question. Properly planned, “casino development would enhance real estate values in South Florida,” said Philip Spiegelman, a principal of ISG, a realty company that provides marketing for large condominium developers. (Mr. Spiegelman has a partnership with the Related Group; that company’s chairman, Jorge M. Pérez, was one of the sellers of the Omni Center.)
But Diane Lieberman, a leading condominium broker in Miami and Miami Beach, said she did not think the arrival of gambling would have any effect on the condominium market. She said she and her husband, Alan Lieberman, learned that lesson the hard way, buying about 10 houses in Atlantic City when gambling became legal there. “The prices didn’t go up,” she said, adding that gambling “didn’t improve the area. It just added casinos.”
Miami Today Notes Growing Opposition to Casinos – and Some Conflicts of Interest? In Miami? Amazing! Dec 22, 2011
Casino carpetbaggers meet more opposition, get nastier
By Michael Lewis
It’s not a good holiday season for the casino invaders, who were riding so high three months ago that we pleaded for anyone to battle the juggernaut.
Fortunately, gambling forces decided they were indeed invincible and vastly underestimated us, betting they already had enough of us on their payrolls to legalize mega-casinos.
But many refused to be cowed, so we now have a good chance to defeat misguided state bills that would quickly ram a new way of life down our throats without a public vote.
In a turnabout, Miami-Dade’s mayor, commission chairman and a leading commissioner refused to endorse casinos at a Beacon Council gambling forum last week. Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado had pulled back earlier. Miami Beach commissioners soon reaffirmed their opposition to a casino incursion.
Even early advocates — those not on casino payrolls — now doubt claims, looking at the harm casinos could do here and already do elsewhere.
Maybe they heard that Atlantic City casinos’ revenues have fallen 39 straight months and one casino nearly closed. If it’s so bad there, why import it?
Insiders even say casino bills are dead in 2012. But Miami Beach City Manager Jorge Gonzalez noted that so much money is trying to force casinos on us that we can’t count them out.
One thing we’re learning: casinos are bad losers. They’re cocky when riding high, but nasty when the tide turns.
They follow the old trial lawyer’s adage: if the facts are against you, argue the law; if the law is against you, argue the facts; when both are against you, call names.
So we hear names from Carlos Curbelo, who represents the public on the school board while he’s paid to serve Genting, owner of Resorts World Miami, in trying to pick the public’s pocket:
“There are a relatively small number of voices criticizing this legislation. There is a major disconnect between what the overwhelming majority of residents want and what the wealthy business interests are saying,” Mr. Curbelo said, ignoring business interests like himself paid by Genting to pass a casino law.
The last thing we need is casino teams saying fat cats aim to hold back the rest of us. Mr. Curbelo lacks the law and the facts, so he aims to divide and conquer.
He’s not alone. Rep. Erik Fresen, who does casino interests’ work with a bill they could have written for him, responded to a thought that casinos could drive out major cultural events like Art Basel Miami Beach by telling the Beacon Council forum that “99% of my constituency doesn’t go to Art Basel…. It doesn’t put a paycheck in someone’s pocket.”
Weren’t 50,000 people from around the globe and booming business in hotels, restaurants and elsewhere contributing to paychecks? If it’s good for us, why is it bad?
Or take ex-congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, now paid by Genting — they didn’t buy everyone, but they tried. He also sought to show that foes of mega-casinos are self-serving fat cats.
“I am asking our citizens to see through the scare tactics, often rooted in hidden economic interests, and support the legislation…,” he wrote, ignoring that virtually every casino gambling spokesman seems to have more than “economic interests” — they get casino checks. If they detest hidden interests, let all of them expose theirs.
Though opinion leaders gag on divisive criticism and ever-changing claims from mega-casinos, it still won’t halt the incursion. South Florida has the money and casinos want to ship it back home.
If outnumbered, the casinos will instead seek regulators who would cost taxpayers at least $1 million a year and would stay on the state payroll only if they get casinos to oversee.
So regulators would become tax-paid proponents for casinos, just as state-paid Secretary of the Florida Lottery Cynthia F. O’Connell penned a Miami Herald column this month beginning “The Florida Lottery is good for our state…” Well, it’s certainly good for her — it’s her job.
Casinos bank on a key factor: Miami-Dade has no formal vision for its future. As long as we lack an aim, whatever we do will get us there — wherever “there” is.
But the One Community One Goal team the Beacon Council spearheads with buy-in from others could deter the attack. Its study, half done, aims at a framework for choosing a future with more and better jobs that fit our lifestyle.
That should scare the mega-casinos, because it’s unlikely that a thorough study would uphold their cry that gambling is our economic salvation.
No matter what economic aims Miami’s leaders set, however, one bet is sure: casinos will try again and again, year after year. They’ve been trying to invade Florida for decades and three times lost statewide votes.
They won’t quit.
They’re like bugs: they keep invading, so we’ve got to keep spraying.
County Commission Weighs in on Casino Issue With Shortsighted View
Posted on Friday, 12.23.11 MIami Herald
Commission weighs in on casino resorts By Martha Brannigan The Miami Herald By Martha Brannigan mbrannigan@MiamiHerald.com In a bid to ensure Miami-Dade County emerges a winner, the county commission has written state lawmakers spelling out commissioners’ resort-casino priorities.A draft letter, approved last week, emphasizes the need for a local referendum on whether to allow the casinos and seeks guarantees ensuring the county and affected cities get a fair share of casino revenues.The letter reiterates the county — not cities or the state — should decide many casino issues because casinos will have “regional impacts.” And it says tax rates for pari-mutuels and resort casinos should be equal. Other priorities include protections for existing businesses and residents, jobs for locals, integrated planning and comprehensive development of roads, and transit. The viability of the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts must also be part of the equation, the commission said.In its letter, to be sent as the Legislature prepares to take up casino bills in January, the commission says it has yet to take a formal position on the issue, but adds: “If done right, destination resort casinos can provide substantial benefits to the people of Miami-Dade County, particularly during these challenging economic times filled with unemployment and hardship.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/25/2559429/miami-dade-commission-weighs-in.html#storylink=cpy
Nevada – Sad Truth About the State of a Gambling Economy ?
Nevada has been recently ranked No. 1 in “unemployment, foreclosures, violent crime, personal bankruptcy and divorce.”
Florida Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, December 8th, 2011 in a news article
Nevada is No. 1 in unemployment, divorce and violent crime, Florida chamber claims
As the January 2012 state legislative session draws near, supporters and opponents are organizing to make their voices heard about a proposed bill that would allow three massive casino resorts in South Florida.
On Dec. 8, 2011, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — both Republicans — held a press conference with opponents to publicly denounce the gambling bill.
In an article about that press conference posted on WTSP 10 News, a Tampa Bay station, Mark Wilson, the CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, piped up about his opposition, too.
The report paraphrased Wilson as saying that the casinos would take money away from existing businesses and lead to other problems. He pointed to the state of Nevada, where gambling is prevalent, as an example.
Nevada, he said, “can keep their recent No. 1 rankings in unemployment, foreclosures, violent crime, personal bankruptcy and divorce. They can keep their No. 1 rankings.”
For this fact-check, we won’t begin to address whether gambling is to blame for the statistics Wilson cited. We are examining whether he had them correct.
Wilson’s spokeswoman, Edie Ousley, said that the unemployment and foreclosure data came from 2011 data, that the personal bankruptcy statistic was from 2010 and the violent crime and divorce data was from 2009. She sent us a document from CQ Press that pulled numbers from many sources including the census, Small Business Administration, FBI and administrative office of the U.S. courts. Katy Sorenson, a former Miami-Dade County Commissioner who is now the CEO of The Good Government Initiative at the University of Miami, also cited similar statistics attributed to the Congressional District Ranking Book in a guest editorial in the Miami Herald Dec. 10.
We will use CQ’s research as well as our own to look at each category cited by Wilson:
Unemployment: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in October 2011 unemployment in Nevada was 13.4 percent — the highest state (the list includes Puerto Rico at 16.1 percent but Puerto Rico is a territory not a state).
Foreclosures: RealtyTrac shows a map of foreclosures nationwide as of October 2011 which shows for Nevada one home in every 180 is in foreclosure — the highest in the country in terms of the ratio. (Nevada isn’t the highest in sheer numbers — there are more foreclosures in more populous states such as California and Florida.)
Violent crime: The FBI’s 2010 statistics show 17,841 violent crimes (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) in the state of Nevada, for a rate of 660.6 per 100,000 occupants. Nevada’s rate was the second highest in the country behind the District of Columbia, which had a rate of 1,330.2. (Nevada wasn’t the second highest in sheer number of crimes because some states with larger populations, for example New York and California, had higher numbers of total violent crimes.) Since the chamber said Wilson was referring to 2009, we looked at the FBI’s violent crime report for 2009, too, and found again the District of Columbia at No. 1 at 1345.9 and Nevada’s rate at 702.2. The District of Columbia isn’t a state so we think it’s fair here to say Nevada had the highest crime rate amongst the states.
Personal bankruptcy: Using data collected from U.S. Bankruptcy Courts during a 12-month period ending in September 2010, Nevada ranked No. 1 in terms of the personal bankruptcy rate. The state had 1,121 nonbusiness bankruptcies per 100,000 population. We found bankruptcy statistics for the 12-month period ending in September 2011, but it showed the number of bankruptcy cases — not the rate.
Divorce: CQ used 2009 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which found that Nevada had the highest divorce rate among states reporting (6.7 per 1,000 population). We corroborated the data through the National Center.
However, six states did not collect the information for 2009. Center spokesman Jeffrey Lancashire said the group no longer collects detailed divorce data because not all the states collect the information.
“The exact reasons vary from state to state, but likely it is budget-related,” he said in an e-mail. “But when a state like California doesn’t collect the information, it is real problematic to produce good national data.”
The census also measures marital status rates for each state. The census shows that Nevada had a divorce rate of 12.3 percent for males and 14.6 percent for females between 2005 and 2007. According to the census, Wyoming had a slightly higher rate of divorced males — 12.6 percent — but Nevada was No. 1 for divorced females.
Another product created by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2010 American Community Survey showed that Nevada had a 12.4 percent divorce rate for women — placing it in a tie for 9th place with Tennessee — and a 14 percent divorce rate for men — ranking it first.
Which divorce statistic should we give most weight?
Robert Bernstein, a spokesman with the census, suggested that we use the National Center for Health Statistics data because that represents the official divorce rates and is based on vital statistics while the American Community Survey data are based on responses by survey respondents. That puts Wilson on solid footing.
Our ruling
Mark Wilson, the CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said that Nevada has been recently ranked No. 1 in unemployment, foreclosures, violent crime, personal bankruptcy and divorce. The state of Nevada is clearly No. 1 in its unemployment and foreclosure rate — and it’s the highest for violent crime, too, if we omit the District of Columbia, which isn’t a state. CQ’s analysis shows Nevada at the top spot for personal bankruptcy. The statistics on divorce are somewhat more complicated but one recent source, the National Center for Health Statistics, concluded Nevada’s overall divorce rate was the highest in the country in 2009 among the states for which such data was available.
We rate this statement True.
Gambling’s Sands Gains Obscene Profits from Losers – in US and Asia
Las Vegas Sands’ revenue potential boggling
http://www.lvrj.com/business/lv-sands-revenue-potential-boggling-135818573.html
Posted: Dec. 18, 2011 | 2:00 a.m.
Imagine a single casino company collecting nearly $11 billion in annual revenues by the end of next year.
And that includes accounting for a possible slowdown in one of its major gaming markets.
Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill downgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. from “buy” to “neutral” earlier this month. He told investors that revenues from the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore could be slightly lower in the fourth quarter compared with the company’s previous two reporting periods.
He is also concerned that Macau’s December numbers could be a tad below what many expect the market to produce, which could cut into results from Las Vegas Sands’ three casinos in the Chinese special administrative region.
These are just short-term worries.
When 2012 is in the books, McGill expects Las Vegas Sands to be reporting revenues of more than $10.9 billion.
Let’s put this figure into perspective.
In 2010, Nevada’s entire casino industry collected $10.4 billion in gaming revenues. Through October, gaming revenues are up in the Silver State by 2.5 percent. Las Vegas Sands, in 2010, had revenues of $6.85 billion. McGill estimates the company will report $9.2 billion in revenues for 2011.
What he might construe as a slightly-off quarter for Las Vegas Sands would be considered a monster year for some casino operators.
In the spring, the company will start opening 6,000 hotel rooms as part of its Cotai Central resort complex in Macau, which will include hotels operating under the Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Conrad brands but centered around the casinos operated by Las Vegas Sands. The project is expected to give the company an even larger cut of Macau’s now-$30 billion-a-year gaming market.
“Las Vegas Sands should also benefit from taking share in VIP gaming at existing properties in Macau, as it looks to add junkets and refurbish VIP rooms, which should be more appealing to players,” McGill told investors.
It’s possible the $3.88 billion he is projecting for Las Vegas Sands’ overall cash flow in 2012 could be even larger.
“(It’s) something we will monitor,” he said.
The key driver for Las Vegas Sands is Singapore.
The island-nation approved just two casinos as part of a general plan to increase tourism.
Gaming is supposed to be a small portion of the entire integrated resort.
As such, the largest part of Resorts World Sentosa is a Universal Studios theme park. The Marina Bay Sands has a relatively average-sized 165,000-square-foot casino, along with more than 1 million square-feet of retail and 1.2 million square-feet of convention and meeting space.
Singapore’s tourism figures grew by 20 percent in 2010 but no one anticipated the gaming element.
In a research report this month, Citigroup said the combined gaming revenues from Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands could top $6.9 billion next year, easily surpassing the Strip, which had $5.8 billion in gaming revenues in 2010.
The Singapore government has tried to slow gaming, ordering casinos to charge entrance fees for local residents and to limit promotions. Singapore is capped at two casinos until 2017.
McGill thought Las Vegas Sands’ total revenues from Singapore would top $3.3 billion in 2012, an astonishing figure that would be more than double what he expects the company to collect from The Venetian and Palazzo on the Strip.
Additional growth in Asia is not off Las Vegas Sands’ radar.
Company Chairman Sheldon Adelson recently visited Japan and Vietnam for potential gaming opportunities. Japan, which saw its economy ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami earlier this year, is reconsidering its ban on gaming as it looks for ways to boost tourism.
A Japanese economics professor predicted Japan could become a $44 billion-a-year gaming market.
McGill said Las Vegas Sands, based on its track record, is considered a favorite in any emerging gaming market, including Japan. Las Vegas Sands is one of several operators taking a hard look at the potential for casinos in South Florida.
The company is also looking at replicating its Cotai Strip development in Spain.
“These all represent potential value to the company, but right now we find it difficult to handicap the odds enough to assign a value to the stock,” McGill said. “Many of these potential markets have been talked about for a long time and have never come to fruition.”
Internet Cafes Vanishing in Hillsborough. Hey, Couldn’t We Also Have Enforcement ?
Internet cafes vanish from Hillsborough landscape
By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 19, 2011
http://www2.tbo.com/news/community-news/2011/dec/19/internet-cafes-vanish-from-hillsborough-landscape-ar-336245/
NORTHDALE –
It was one of several businesses in the Northdale Shoppes plaza, a strip mall in this northwest Hillsborough County enclave of subdivisions and retail outlets.
Other plaza tenants say the man who rented the small storefront spent thousands of dollars on the property – located among a tanning salon, a neighborhood pharmacy and a yogurt shop – installing computers, leather chairs, a kitchenette and other amenities.
Then, about six months after opening, the Tampa Internet Entertainment Sweepstakes Cafe closed down.
As quickly as they appeared, the Internet sweepstakes cafes that flocked to Hillsborough after other counties outlawed them are disappearing from the local landscape. Some, like the one that occupied a spot in the Northdale plaza, were shuttered days after a Dec. 7 county commission vote to ban what they called “simulated gambling devices.”
“That’s how these guys operate,” Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry McKinnon said of the Internet café owners. “If they know heavy enforcement is coming, they just pack up and go somewhere else. And it’s usually just across the county line.”
Hillsborough sheriff’s investigators, who are visiting the cafes to inform owners of the ban, are finding many of the 30 or so outlets in the county already are closed.
McKinnon said that’s what happened when Pinellas County voted to ban the cafes.
“We started seeing them popping up like mushrooms all over the county,” he said.
Tenants said they knew little about the man who ran the Internet café at Northdale Shoppes. But they say he spent a lot of money setting it up and didn’t seem to get a lot of business.
“I never saw anyone going into that place,” said Silvia Clarke, owner of Britan’s Yogurt Mill, who has been a tenant in the plaza for nearly a decade. “It was very strange.”
* * * * *
The café was open 24-hours, served food and drinks and catered mostly to seniors.
Attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful. A man who answered the door at the business on Friday said the owner was a real estate agent, but didn’t know how to reach him. The man, who wouldn’t give his name, said he was helping the owner move out.
Dozens of other sweepstakes cafes, including several along Hillsborough Avenue, also have closed their doors within the past week, following approval of the countywide ban.
Alan Petzold had operated a café near Hillsborough Avenue and Racetrack Road with a business partner and planned to open another one, before the ban was approved.
He said the county’s crackdown on the cafes is hurting small business owners.
“We’re not getting rich doing this,” Petzold said. “They’re just putting people out of work.”
He said he knows of a few café operators – particularly those financed by corporations with deep-pockets – who are digging in their heels for an expected legal challenge.
“They’re going to fight to stay open,” Petzold said. “Honestly, I don’t blame them.”
* * * * *
Similar moves by Pinellas, Seminole and other Florida counties to ban the games have been challenged in court and Hillsborough officials are bracing for possible legal action.
“We haven’t seen any litigation yet, but we have been told that it’s forthcoming,” said Chris Brown, an attorney representing the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office.
Justin Kaplan, a Miami-based attorney, represents Arcola Systems, which makes software and hardware used in cyber cafes including several in Hillsborough.
He said many café operators are worried about being treated like criminals.
“They’re shutting down because they’re afraid of getting raided,” he said. “These are mostly independent mom-and-pop operations that are being driven out of business.”
Casinos, race tracks and other gambling establishments in Florida must adhere to strict regulations, but the Internet sweepstakes cafes operate beneath the radar of regulators.
The legality of the cafes is in dispute throughout the state because state law is vague on what constitutes a slot machine. Operators of the cafes say they are offering a chance at cash prizes to customers who buy Internet time. Though the players see a slot machine on their computer screen, the winning number is predetermined, supporters say, much like a scratch-off ticket used as a promotion at fast food and retail outlets.
Hillsborough Commissioner Sandy Murman, who pushed the ban, calls the cafes illegal gambling houses that don’t pay taxes and siphon money from elderly and poor people.
She wasn’t surprised to hear many of them already had shut down.
“They’re just going to pack up and find somewhere else that they can prey on vulnerable people,” she said. “It’s the nature of these kinds of businesses. They’re predatory.”
Division in Theme Park Land?
As Disney fights casinos, Universal sits on sidelines
By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
10:57 p.m. EST, December 17, 2011
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-universal-orlando-casinos-20111217,0,6720461.story
As state lawmakers weigh whether to allow casino developers to build massive resorts in South Florida, most of Central Florida’s biggest tourism businesses have come out against the plan. But one influential interest — Universal Orlando — has so far remained on the sidelines.
Orlando’s No. 2 theme-park resort, which draws more than 11 million visitors a year, says it has not taken a position on the controversial legislation, which is shaping up as one of the biggest industry slugfests in the state Capitol in years.
The resort’s neutrality extends behind the scenes as well. Lobbyists for the resort in Tallahassee, where Universal has more than a half-dozen representatives, say privately that they have not been asked to engage on the issue. Key activists on both sides of the debate say they have not heard anything from Universal, either.
Universal’s silence contrasts with the actions of other big tourism interests. Walt Disney World has been one of the harshest critics of the casino proposal and has worked to enlist other businesses in the cause. SeaWorld Orlando has publicly said it opposes the measure and any others that would expand gambling in Florida. And tourism groups ranging from the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association to the Florida Attractions Association have made defeating the legislation a top priority for the 2012 legislative session.
Universal will say only that it is “studying” matters.
“At this point, this is still a local issue, and we think it’s too soon to speak out,” spokesman Tom Schroder said. “But we are studying the statewide implications and will be part of the discussion as we see the need.”
Universal usually, though not always, marches in lockstep with Disney World on public-policy issues, and it has fought efforts to expand gambling in the past. In 1994, Universal gave $50,000 to the political group No Casinos to help it campaign against an ultimately unsuccessful constitutional amendment that would have allowed dozens of casinos to be built across Florida. Disney, which argues that adult-oriented gambling is incompatible with family-focused, theme-park tourism, gave more than $500,000 to that campaign.
But when No Casinos was resurrected in 2004 to fight an ultimately successful campaign that allowed slot machines in South Florida, Universal opted not to give any money at all. Disney gave $25,000 to that effort.
No Casinos has been resurrected again to campaign against the new casino legislation. But the group’s president, Orlando political consultant John Sowinski, said he has not yet reached out to Universal for support.
“They’re on my list,” Sowinski said.
Universal’s loyalties in this year’s battle could be divided.
One of the companies leading the lobbying blitz to authorize casinos is the Genting Group, which has outlined plans for a 10 million-square-foot resort in downtown Miami. And Genting is an important international business partner for Universal Parks & Resorts, Universal Orlando’s parent company.
Genting owns and operates Universal Studios Singapore, one of two overseas Universal theme parks. That park, which opened in early 2010, is part of Genting’s roughly $5 billion Resorts World Sentosa development, which also includes a casino. Universal Parks & Resorts, a unit of Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal media division, earns licensing fees from Genting.
Universal would not say whether its relationship with Genting has played any role in its decision to remain neutral in the casino debate.
“We want what’s best for Florida,” Schroder said.
Genting said it has not made any effort to enlist Universal’s support in its Florida lobbying campaign.
“We have not had discussion with Universal regarding a partnership in the U.S., but enjoy a successful partnership with Universal Studios in Sentosa and look forward to a bright future there,” said Jessica Hoppe, general counsel and vice president of governmental affairs for Genting’s Resorts World Miami project.
Some industry analysts say it is also possible that Universal is less hostile to casinos because its core target audience is slightly older than Disney’s. Universal parks, for example, have far more height-restricted thrill rides than Disney parks. And though Disney hosts the child-friendly “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” in the Magic Kingdom each fall, Universal stages chilling “Halloween Horror Nights” instead.
Still, Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm, said casinos could be a turnoff even for Universal’s edgier demographic.
Theme parks and casinos are like “oil and water: They just don’t mix,” Speigel said. “We have found in our research that people who come to gamble are not theme-park-goers. They’re slot-machine players.”
Speigel said the prospect of gambling is likely to be especially off-putting to the millions of new visitors Universal has attracted in the 18 months since it opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — a themed land based on a series of books aimed primarily at younger readers.
“Universal’s a little different than Disney in that it’s more skewed to the thrill riders, but that’s changed with Harry Potter. Harry Potter has brought back the family segment,” he said. “If you look at that growth, that’s primarily been in the families-with-children segment.”
Community Competition Over Slots? Haven’t We Been There Before and Lost Repeatedly?
Palm Beach County considers slot machines to keep up with expanded South Florida gambling
County Commission votes Tuesday on slot machine referendum
By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel
2:06 p.m. EST, December 17, 2011
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-slots-gambling-palm-20111217,0,155295.story
Palm Beach County
gambling supporters are betting that slot machines offer a way into South Florida’s proposed casino gold rush.
Broward and Miami-Dade counties are asking the Legislature for the chance to build Las Vegas-style casinos, and Palm Beach County business and political leaders worry they could lose out on the tourism, jobs and tax revenues expected to follow expanded gambling.
To stay competitive, Palm Beach County gambling proponents want to at least get slot machines at their only existing parimutuel facility, the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
Allowing slot machines would open the door to more of the casino-style gambling long advocated by kennel club owners, the influential Rooney family.
Palm Beach County can take another step toward expanded gambling on Tuesday, when the County Commission takes its final vote on whether to hold a referendum in November, asking voters to allow slot machines.
“Whether we like it or not, we are in gambling territory,” said Palm Beach County Commission Chairwoman Shelley Vana, pointing out that slots already are allowed in neighboring Broward County. “We need to keep our hand in there so we are not just the also-ran for tourism in South Florida.
“Maybe [slot machine gaming] is a foot in the door.”
While supporters trumpet the potential infusion of cash into the Palm Beach County economy, gambling opponents warn of the social costs expanded gambling could bring.
Slot machines that could further enrich the kennel club also threaten to fuel gambling addictions and lead to more crime in already-struggling neighborhoods near the dog track.
Slot machines and expanded gambling don’t fit in with Palm Beach County’s taxpayer-backed push in recent years to attract biotech companies and associated high-tech industries, according to state Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach
“There certainly [can be] a downgrading of the local area,” said Pafford, who opposes allowing slot machines. “People come to gamble and they blow their money. … Is that the direction that we want to go?”
The county’s proposed referendum is contingent on the Florida Supreme Court upholding a lower court ruling allowing voter-approved slot machines at parimutuels without amending the state constitution.
Palm Beach County’s measure aims to limit slot machines to the kennel club, instead of allowing them at other sites such as the defunct jai-alai fronton in Mangonia Park.
“With the change in the lay of the land in gaming, the opportunity to put slots [at the kennel club] will continue to allow them to be viable and competitive,” said Dennis Grady, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. “In this day and age, you want to see them continue to expand.”
The Palm Beach Kennel Club, on Congress Avenue and Belvedere Road across from Palm Beach International Airport, opened nearly 80 years ago. It owns 60 acres, employs 650 people and features live greyhound racing, simulcast horse racing and poker.
The owners, the Rooney family — who own the Pittsburgh Steelers — have lobbied for years to get slot machines and other expanded gaming.
The family includes U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, and state Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr., R-West Palm Beach, who is president of the kennel club.
Voter approval of slot machines would be more than just a boon for the Rooney family, said Mat Forrest, kennel club lobbyist.
Slot machines could bring more tax revenue to help the surrounding Westgate neighborhood, a designated redevelopment area in need of sewer lines, drainage improvements and other infrastructure upgrades, he said.
“Property values are going to go up,” Forrest said. “It’s a benefit to the overall area.”
Yet one of the kennel club’s closest neighbors, Belvedere Baptist Church, isn’t convinced that increased tax revenue is worth the problems expanded gambling could bring.
The Rev. Samuel Henry worries that slot machines feed a gambling habit much more addictive than the dog racing and poker already occurring across the street from his church.
Henry, from Mississippi, said he has seen increases in pawn shops and crime follow slot machines and casinos to the Gulf Coast. Now he worries about expanded gambling making things harder for Westgate.
The County Commission needs to “do its homework” before opening the door to slot machines, Henry said.
“You just bring in trouble,” Henry said. “You are trying to build your economy on people’s addictions.”
Norman Braman on Gambling
