Neither the very conspicuous efforts of Genting Berhad and Las Vegas Sands nor the quieter ones of Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment were sufficient to overcome entrenched conservatism in the Florida Legislature. State Rep. Erik Fresen (R) waved the surrender flag, having failed to get his bill out of committee. The chairman of House Rules Committee added, with a loud, mossbacked harrumph that he had scored a “resounding victory for those of us who have opposed this assault on Florida‘s family friendly economy.” While there are four weeks remaining in the legislative session and Genting has vowed to make a last-ditch stand, gambling expansion appears to be dead, buried and forgotten — at least until early 2013. A state Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R), technically remains alive. But since it would expand the parameters of gambling much farther than Fresen’s bill would have, its chances in the lower house are nil. An amendment that would have allowed parimutuels the same repertory of games as destination resorts was withdrawn, further weakening the Fresen bill’s chances of passage. The racino/fronton industry ultimately threw in with predictable opponents like Disney World and former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman — as did the Seminole Tribe, which currently enjoys a monopoly on certain table games.
Whilst puffing their chests and congratulating themselves, the hard-liners might want to stop and remember that Florida’s gray-market gambling industry — Internet cafes and maquinitas parlors — continues unabated, an issue they have now failed to address. They’ve also rejected at least $6 billion in investment. Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson didn’t help matters by rampaging through the Sunshine State with a serious of stormy, divisive ads on behalf of pal Newt Gingrich, energy that would have been better spent working the GOP side of the aisle in Tallahassee, not stirring up intra-party discord. But it now seems pretty clear that, once he realized he wasn’t going to get a state-sanctioned casino monopoly, Adelson opted to sulk on the sidelines of the gaming debate.
If at least three of the Big Four in gaming came out losers, the industry had its winners. The Seminoles, obviously, staved off a major competitive threat. Mardi Gras Racetrack & Gaming Center and Isle of Capri Casinos‘ Pompano Park racino (left) lived to wager another day, and numerous little parimutuels enjoyed a David-and-Goliath moment. But the big boys came frustratingly close to victory and now have to root against the Florida economy, because future travails are their best hope of gaining admission.
Donald Trump came to Las Vegas yesterday, said some stuff and received the appropriate amount of coverage from the Review-Journal‘s Steve Sebelius (i.e., two sentences). Or, as the National Review‘s Jim Geraghy pithily put it, “In Bad Break for Romney, He Wins Trump’s Endorsement.” (Plus a meaningless promise.) Seriously, if you were running for president as Mr. Fiscal Responsibility, would you want your newest surrogate to be Donald “Three Bankruptcies” Trump? Bit of a disconnect, I’d say.
A “cartoon mogul” indeed.
A huge mistake in Florida. The Seminoles just opened their expanded Coconut Creek Casino yesterday. It is first class and now includes a 2,400 car garage and new restaurants. Now that resort destinations are dead, the Seminoles will probably build their hotel sooner rather than later. Coconut Creek will become the Seminoles’ flagship property and draw business from Palm Beach County and northern/western Broward County.
Isle Pompano’s glee may be short lived. Even without a hotel, Coconut Creek is now in another league, and with better air handling systems, non-smokers might be tempted to shift from Isle to Coconut Creek.