 |
 Palm Beach County voters could decide whether slot machines should be allowed at the Palm Beach Kennel Club. County commissioners on Tuesday will consider adding a referendum to next year’s presidential election ballot that would ask voters to weigh allowing slots at pari-mutuel facilities.A final vote of the commission is set for Dec. 20. Upon approval by commissioners and then voters, slot machines would be allowed at the track, the county’s only pari-mutuel. Seven pari-mutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties have voter-approved slots. A 2009 amendment to the Florida Constitution allowed the two counties to conduct referendums on whether to allow the machine.
-Seeing a gambling executive like Dan Adkins of Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach turn into a gambling opponent, at least when it comes to this bill. That's because of the potential imbalance of having new competition with a 10 percent tax rate while slot machines at South Florida's parimutuel "racinos" like Mardi Gras remain taxed at 35 percent.
--Seeing the Genting Group of Asia arrogantly get way ahead of itself, buying a prime piece of waterfront land in downtown Miami and unveiling plans for a monstrously large casino before having one shred of legislative or zoning approval. With 5,200 hotel rooms, dozens of restaurants and more casino space than several of the largest Vegas resorts combined, the proposed design also features six cascading glass towers meant to resemble a coral reef over Biscayne Bay.
My favorite reaction to Genting's renderings came from humorist Dave Barry.
"One word – hurricane," Barry said in a radio interview. "There'll be pieces of glass landing in Atlanta from that thing."
Genting certainly threw caution to the winds with its brash vision, but now there's a backlash. Scaling back and dialing down the big promises of jobs, revenue and guaranteed visitors would seem a wiser course.
After all, there's no such thing as a sure thing. Just look at Dania Jai-Alai, where the house has taken a beating in recent years.
Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming bought the fronton and its slots license for $152.5 million in 2006, making big promises about jobs and redevelopment. Five years later, there are still no slots at the property, and a proposed sale at a big loss (for $80 million) just fell through.
No wonder why casino operator Las Vegas Sands is taking a more low-key approach to South Florida.
"We think it's better to go slow, start small with one [resort] and see if it's successful," Sands lobbyist Nick Iarossi said at a Fort Lauderdale business forum last week.
Odds are, full-blown Vegas-style resorts will be a long time coming.
|
|
