The Miami Herald
Posted on Thu, Oct. 06, 2011
Court ruling allows legislators to expand casino gaming in South Florida
By Mary Ellen Klas
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE
A Tallahassee court cleared the way Thursday for legislators to expand gambling in South Florida without a referendum vote, while two key sponsors of a casino bill finished drafting their proposal to allow three resort casinos to operate in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The ruling by First District Court of Appeals Judge Marguerite H. Davis was a victory for Hialeah Racetrack and serves as a promising omen for the push by the world’s largest gaming companies to bring resort casinos to Florida.
Davis affirmed a lower court decision, saying the law passed by the Legislature allowing Hialeah Racetrack to offer slot machines was constitutional. She rejected the argument by Flagler Gaming Centers and Calder Race Course, which argued that when voters approved slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward in 2005 and 2008, they intended to limit the number of permits to the seven pari-mutuels that were currently operating.
Davis said voters did not intend to give the entities “a constitutionally-protected monopoly over slot machine gaming in the state.”
The ruling was hailed by Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, and Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, who want legislators to approve their proposal to build three resort casinos in Miami Dade and Broward Counties without first having to seek voter approval. They have filed identical proposals to invite companies to submit bids for three casino licenses to a newly-created Florida Gaming Commission.
Each of the bidders would be required to show that they will invest a minimum of $2 billion in capital in each facility.
This gambling commission, which itself will be carefully vetted, will evaluate the bids and select the winners based on a scoring scale that gives preferences to proposals that create the most jobs and complete work the earliest, Bogdanoff said.
The bills also require that the multi-billion dollar resorts give gambling a low profile. Each resort is restricted to using no more than 10 percent of the total square footage for the Las Vegas-style games, such as slot machines, roulette wheels and craps tables. The gambling space also must be segregated from other attractions — so that a visitor can attend the resort without having to see the gambling machines, Fresen said.
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It seems that it's full steam ahead at this point! I wouldn't underestimate and bet against the resolve and resources of the companies bidding to get it done above board or under the table. It appears they're lining their ducks rather nicely as the Indians might be included in the conversations.
Imagine, there may well be 2 projects totaling 6 billion in investment racing to the finish line!
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, but in reality this 3 bil project will be funded by a 43 bil resorts/gaming company that recognizes the possibility that Miami's already formidable tourism cache has the potential to justify such an investment. It speaks to the fact that Miami is an international lure and is a leader in the tourism industry, which is as much an industry as any other no matter how much people on these forums try to dismiss or denigrate it. The "yayo" days are past by a couple decades.... water under the bridge.... old news. It's just not prevalent in our economy as these vestigial perceptions persist in promoting. In reality the drug trade has moved to greener, easier pastures. Miami is no longer the center financially or geographically. I concede that it isn't gone, we're the center of finance for Latin America after all, but this notion that drug traffic is the driving force for everything down here is patently false. <steps off the soapbox>
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