Next Florida Governor to Expand Slots at Indian Reservations

Bush, the younger brother of President Bush, unsuccesfully oppossed the proposed Las Vegas-style slot machines at Broward County' pari-mutuel facilities, but when voters approved the proposal, he signed the law, nonetheless.
 
Either Republican Charles Crist or Democrat Jim Davis will be chosen by voters to succeed Bush next week, and gaming industry experts are saying both of these pols are "open" to further expansion.
 
Crist's campaign is very receptive to the industry, and has received $5,000 from the gaming industry, thus far, and the state Republican Party has received more than $125,000. Davis' campaign, meantime, has received $1,500 from individuals and the state Democratic Party has received at least $250,000 from the gaming industry.
 
Experts predict that next year, there will be negotiations with Indian tribes over the Vegas-style slots they want to to install in their casinos across the state, as they face competition from legal, local slot machines offerings.  
 

Indian Casinos

The Indian casinos, include the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa and the Hollywood and Miccosukee Indian Gaming facilities, near Miami, which already have poker and video lottery machines that are quite similar to slots. Right now, the Indian casinos don't pay state taxes because they are owned by the sovereign nation tribes. Gov. Bush's tried to negotiate with Florida's tribes, but the talks stalled earlier this year. Other states have already negotiated deals allowing their tribes Vegas-like games like blackjack and roulette in exchange for a tax on overall revenues.
 
After the Florida Gaming Summit in Hollywood, Fla., just last month, Wall Street research from Wachovia Capital Markets predicted that the 6,000 Broward new slot machines will generate at least $700 million in wagering annually. The first are expected to open later this month. Indian gaming, once it spreads, will generate even more.
 
State Sen. Steve Geller (D-Hallandale Beach), a gaming supporter, said he is already crafting a bill to change some of the state's slot machine regulations, anticipating that the next governor will be able to reach new deals with the Indians.
 
Currently, the state has legalized poker, horse and dog racing and jai-alai, which collectively generated $331 million in bets during the first eight months of this year, said Geller. The state also offers legal gambling cruises, which furnish customers with Vegas-style gambling once they reach international waters.

 

Called 'Racinos'

Geller said many of the state's off-track-betting facilities want to have their own slot machines to keep pace with Dania Jai-Alai, Pompano Park harness racing, Mardi Gras Track and Gaming Center and Gulfstream Park racing  track.
 
Gulfstream and Pompano, known affectionately as "racinos," short for racetrack-casinos, are spending a lot of funds to upgrade their facilities before of the introduction of  new slots. At Pompano - owned by Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. - a new 160,000-square foot building includes space for 1,500 new slot machines, a bar and four new restaurants including a steakhouse and a New York deli, at a cost of about $155 million.
 
"We're not just throwing slot machines in a room," said Doug Shipley, a spokesman for Isle of Capri. "We're striving for a total entertainment destination."
 

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