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For a state that oozes slick entertainment options, Florida's gambling industry could almost be called quaint. Just ask Charles Bianchi, who says he flies to Las Vegas for thrills but here resorts to betting on greyhounds at a dreary old track.
"This place don't have no class," Mr. Bianchi, 69, said the other day as he watched simulcast races from a barstool at the Hollywood Greyhound Race Track. "It's on its way out, and there's only one chance for survival."
For Mr. Bianchi and many other Florida gamblers, that chance is a plan to bring slot machines to seven greyhound and horse tracks and jai alai frontons in South Florida. Backers say the plan will revive those musty sports, create thousands of jobs and provide a potent revenue stream for public schools. Voters in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties will decide in a referendum on March 8 whether to approve the plan, devised largely by track owners who have watched their industry languish since the 1980's.
It is not a new idea, but its impact in Florida - with a robust economy and tourist trade, the nation's fourth-largest population and one of its most storied and diverse racing industries - could be profound, supporters say. The state revenue from racetrack casinos, which proponents say could be $500 million a year, would be greater than anywhere but Pennsylvania, which has approved a plan to put slots at racetracks and other outlets for perhaps $1 billion a year in state profits.
Other governors of big states, including Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, George E. Pataki of New York and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, have embraced gambling expansions as a way to patch budget holes. In Maryland, where Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has been an ardent supporter of slots, the House of Delegates voted on Friday to legalize slot machines. The House bill must be reconciled with one passed by the Senate before it wins final approval.
But in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush, a steadfast opponent of gambling, has attacked the slots plan, and even if voters approve it, he could still veto enabling legislation.
In a letter to the Christian Coalition of South Florida last week, Mr. Bush said any gambling expansion would have "a negative impact on the social fabric and economic health of our state," dismissed revenue projections as a "hollow promise" and warned of a "snowball effect."
The track owners envision up to 3,000 slot machines per site, gussying up the betting halls and drawing crowds of locals and tourists who might otherwise spend money at the state's six Indian casinos. But opponents say, and devoted gamblers like Mr. Bianchi hope, that the proposal has broader implications. To start, it might expand options for the Indian casinos, which under current state law feature video bingo but cannot offer slots or table games.
The Miccosukee Tribe contends that if the state allows slots at tracks and frontons, Indian casinos automatically win that right, too, and possibly also the right to offer craps, roulette and blackjack, which are in the same category as slots under federal law.
A statewide ballot measure last November to authorize the referendum said that tax revenue from the slots would go to public education, a provision that helped it pass. But debate has been fierce about how to split the pot. And opponents have pointed to the state lottery, whose revenues were earmarked for schools when it began in 1994 but have not increased the overall education budget.
Supporters are striving to raise awareness of the March 8 vote. A political action committee formed by South Florida tracks and frontons is spending several million dollars on publicity, painting pictures of money for classrooms and 18,000 new jobs.
Less organized is the opposition, a loose coalition of religious conservatives, school groups, local politicians and animal rights activists, who oppose horse and especially greyhound racing. Florida voters have rejected three gambling proposals since 1978; those were statewide referendums with far more strident opposition from religious groups.
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"This place don't have no class," Mr. Bianchi, 69, said the other day as he watched simulcast races from a barstool at the Hollywood Greyhound Race Track. "It's on its way out, and there's only one chance for survival."
For Mr. Bianchi and many other Florida gamblers, that chance is a plan to bring slot machines to seven greyhound and horse tracks and jai alai frontons in South Florida. Backers say the plan will revive those musty sports, create thousands of jobs and provide a potent revenue stream for public schools. Voters in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties will decide in a referendum on March 8 whether to approve the plan, devised largely by track owners who have watched their industry languish since the 1980's.
It is not a new idea, but its impact in Florida - with a robust economy and tourist trade, the nation's fourth-largest population and one of its most storied and diverse racing industries - could be profound, supporters say. The state revenue from racetrack casinos, which proponents say could be $500 million a year, would be greater than anywhere but Pennsylvania, which has approved a plan to put slots at racetracks and other outlets for perhaps $1 billion a year in state profits.
Other governors of big states, including Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, George E. Pataki of New York and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, have embraced gambling expansions as a way to patch budget holes. In Maryland, where Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has been an ardent supporter of slots, the House of Delegates voted on Friday to legalize slot machines. The House bill must be reconciled with one passed by the Senate before it wins final approval.
But in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush, a steadfast opponent of gambling, has attacked the slots plan, and even if voters approve it, he could still veto enabling legislation.
In a letter to the Christian Coalition of South Florida last week, Mr. Bush said any gambling expansion would have "a negative impact on the social fabric and economic health of our state," dismissed revenue projections as a "hollow promise" and warned of a "snowball effect."
The track owners envision up to 3,000 slot machines per site, gussying up the betting halls and drawing crowds of locals and tourists who might otherwise spend money at the state's six Indian casinos. But opponents say, and devoted gamblers like Mr. Bianchi hope, that the proposal has broader implications. To start, it might expand options for the Indian casinos, which under current state law feature video bingo but cannot offer slots or table games.
The Miccosukee Tribe contends that if the state allows slots at tracks and frontons, Indian casinos automatically win that right, too, and possibly also the right to offer craps, roulette and blackjack, which are in the same category as slots under federal law.
A statewide ballot measure last November to authorize the referendum said that tax revenue from the slots would go to public education, a provision that helped it pass. But debate has been fierce about how to split the pot. And opponents have pointed to the state lottery, whose revenues were earmarked for schools when it began in 1994 but have not increased the overall education budget.
Supporters are striving to raise awareness of the March 8 vote. A political action committee formed by South Florida tracks and frontons is spending several million dollars on publicity, painting pictures of money for classrooms and 18,000 new jobs.
Less organized is the opposition, a loose coalition of religious conservatives, school groups, local politicians and animal rights activists, who oppose horse and especially greyhound racing. Florida voters have rejected three gambling proposals since 1978; those were statewide referendums with far more strident opposition from religious groups.
Full Story:
