7227 - A rerun of Lotto.

[scottobear]

Broward approves, Miami-Dade rejects slot machines

via - http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11086031.htm

Broward County voters approved slot machines at parimutuel facilities, but Miami-Dade voters said no. A last-minute anti-slot campaign led by Gov. Jeb Bush was cited as the difference in Dade.



Racetrack and jai-alai fronton owners got a split decision from South Florida voters Tuesday on whether they can install Vegas-style slot machines.

In Broward County, 57 percent of voters supported the ballot question, which was sponsored by the gaming industry. But in Miami-Dade County, 52 percent voted against expanding the gambling options at parimutuel facilities.

Turnout was light in both counties; 18 percent in Broward and 14 percent in Miami-Dade -- which raised the stakes for get-out-the-vote efforts.

''It's like David and Goliath,'' said Doug Hurd, chairman of the Christian Coalition of South Florida, which worked with a shoestring budget on the anti-slots drive in Miami-Dade.

Slots supporters, who raised nearly $7 million for their campaign, let out a whoop of victory at the Broward Teachers Union hall when it became clear that Broward voters had approved slots. But racetrack executives and their lobbyists quickly huddled behind closed doors when they realized the measure had failed in Dade.

''I'm sick; I'm almost in tears,'' said Dan Adkins, chairman of the pro-slots campaign and an executive at Broward County's Hollywood Greyhound Track, upon learning that the measure failed in Miami-Dade.

In addition to the Hollywood track, Broward voters approved adding slot machines at Gulfstream Park racetrack, Pompano Park harness track and Dania Jai-Alai.

Slots opponents were cheered by their longshot victory in Miami-Dade, after the constitutional amendment that allowed Tuesday's vote passed handily in both counties in November. In Broward, nearly 68 percent supported it, as did 57 percent in Miami-Dade.

LIMITED FUNDS

State Rep. Randy Johnson, a Central Florida Republican who headed the statewide No Casinos campaign and has been the chief slots opponent in the Legislature, said, ``It's amazing to win against such a slick ad campaign, especially when we had less than half a million dollars.''

Both Johnson and Hurd credited a late push by Gov. Jeb Bush, a vehement gambling opponent, for rallying their voters to the polls. ''This is proof positive that Jeb Bush is a certifiable rock star in Miami,'' said Johnson, a fellow conservative.

Now that the voters in South Florida have had their say, the work shifts to Tallahassee, where lawmakers will hammer out the details of how many slot machines to allow in each of Broward's four parimutuels. Legislators also will determine how much of the slot revenue to tax and how many hours they can operate each day.

Whatever legislators decide, it is highly unlikely that the gaming industry will be able to deliver on its campaign promise of $500 million per year for education. That promise had counted on revenues from Miami-Dade's three parimutuels in addition to Broward's four.

Adkins, the Hollywood Greyhound executive, remains confident, however, that Miami-Dade voters might change their minds in two years -- when the pro-slots campaign could mount another referendum .

''When Dade County sees how positive this is, when they see the capital improvements, the jobs created, Dade will see how this will work,'' Adkins said.

It remains to be seen whether the coalition of gambling interests that raised and paid millions to the two counties to help defray the costs of Tuesday's elections would survive now that four of the seven will have slots.

On Monday and Tuesday, both the pro- and anti-slots campaigns targeted voters with automated phone calls and with television, radio and full-page newspaper advertising.

After airing commercials that played up the supposed benefits for school children, the pro-slots campaign, Yes for Better Schools and Jobs, hit the streets. More than 1,300 people fanned out in Broward and Miami-Dade counties Tuesday, said Russ Oster, a strategist for the campaign.

Many black voters in Broward and Miami-Dade received recorded phone calls this week from former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, urging them to vote for slots.

In Miami-Dade, voters got pro-slots calls from County Commissioner Sally Heyman; in Broward, County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion.

Over the past few weeks, Broward School Board Chairwoman Stephanie Kraft and Broward PTA president Kathy Rayson had campaigned against slots.

Animal rights activists and the Christian Coalition set up anti-slots phone banks, said Robin Rorapaugh, a political strategist working on the anti-slots campaign.

FLIERS AT SCHOOL

Some Pembroke Pines parents received anti-slots fliers from the Florida Catholic Conference when they picked up their children Monday night from religious education classes.

Gaming executives have promised to share roughly a third of the revenue from slot machines -- which could still amount to hundreds of millions of dollars per year -- with schools throughout the state and with local governments in Broward County.

Slots opponents argued that hidden costs associated with gambling, which they say include more crime and higher personal bankruptcy rates, will outweigh any public benefit. They also say that the money flowing into the machines will be shifted away from other entertainment venues, hurting local businesses.

In Hallandale Beach, home to two racetracks that should now be able to install slots, retired firefighter Allen Thorogood, 80, had been relishing his chance to vote for the slots.

''I've been waiting a long time for this to happen,'' he said, adding that he doubts claims that more gambling will lead to more crime.

Former slots supporter Luis Vitar, also of Hallandale Beach, defected to the anti-slots camp after hearing that most of the jobs created by the slots would pay comparatively low wages.

''The picture they are trying to portray is not a true picture,'' said Vitar, 54, a Realtor. ``The people on the top are the ones who will be making all the money.''

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Dang slots are like herpes... once you've got 'em, you're never rid of 'em.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I ended up voting against slots in Broward, persuaded by the argument put forth by Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs that there were just too many unanswered questions. The Legislature hasn't even addressed the issue (as it must), and heavily Democratic Broward will have a more difficult time getting its fair share of gambling revenues from the Republican lawmakers now that the gaming industry doesn't have to lobby legislators for a good deal so as to encourage local support.