Publicado el 02-04-2012
For the Time Being,
No More Casinos
Friday morning in Tallahassee, when a committee of the House of Representatives that was considering a bill that would authorize three new destination casinos in South Florida could not reach an agreement, Miami-Dade Representative, Eric Fresen, sponsoring the bill, asked that it be postponed which, in fact, puts the issue to rest, at least this year.
Two Las Vegas casinos and Malaysian casino operator Genting, that had contracted lobbyists to promote the bill, have now said that they will be considering what to do next. Genting is the only concern that has already invested huge sums of money buying land facing Biscayne Bay where it would build three huge buildings with casinos, hotels and condos. So although the issue, for the time being, has been postponed, it is certain that those interests will continue to lobby and do anything that they feel is necessary to reach their goals.
Although the bill in the House, which has a companion one in the Senate sponsored by State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff, would create a new State Department of Gambling Regulation to regulate not only the new casinos but also all gambling that already exists in Florida with horse and dog tracks, pari-mutuels and Seminole tribe casinos, it has found strong opposition from civic groups that say that more gambling would increase crime and would adversely affect the daily life of Florida families. Many think that if the Legislature wants to regulate existing gambling, the State could create that regulating department without expanding gambling.
Florida is considered a family-friendly tourist destination, with its beaches and entertainment parks, many of them in Central Florida, such as Disney World and Universal Studies. Genting’s project supposedly would bring to Miami-Dade professional gamblers from all over the world who spend considerable sums at the casinos. This would do nothing to enhance the State’s image and regardless of the taxes that those casinos would pay the State of Florida, the cost for the county for an increase in security, infrastructure, and losses for local business such as restaurants and hotels not connected to gambling, would be considerable. Gambling is not a normal entertainment, but an addictive activity that entails vice which often becomes uncontrollable.
Casinos are not the solution to improve Florida’s economy. Remember that Las Vegas, where hundreds of casinos are concentrated, is having an economic crisis that is even worse than Florida’s.
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