Slot Machines Proposed in Class 2 Permits for Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach
Gaming has been raised again in this editorial obviously growing out of concerns for the economy recovering from the oil spill disaster. I invite your comments.
Maybe the "lottery slot machines'' once proposed for Perdido Key weren't such a bad idea after all.
A few months back, news spread of a Texas businessman who wanted to open a bingo slots parlor and hotel on Perdido Key, somewhat modeled on the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore
, Ala. The problem: Unless the hotel was owned and operated by an Indian tribe recognized by the federal government, it was against Florida law. Perhaps that law needs to be changed. Consider:
During the next legislative session, lawmakers will face draconian budget cuts, with the loss of billions of federal stimulus money that floated this year's budget. And while many people shout "cut the budget!'', nearly all of the state budget consists of just a few items: law enforcement (including courts and prisons), education and Medicaid. Very tough items to cut, especially since many come with matching federal dollars or are required by law.
State revenues likely will continue to fall as tourism sputters along with a sputtering economic recovery. Meanwhile, the housing market, despite some growth within the foreclosure markets of Southwest Florida, continues struggling as people aren't moving to Florida in the numbers they once did.
That problem will be magnified in the Panhandle because of the oil spill and its impact on our beaches and tourism. We now have both an oil and an image problem: the images of tar balls on Pensacola Beach will probably last longer than the oil problem. We have been scarred.
We need people to come to our beaches. The state needs money. Slot machines could be the answer.
Imagine the tourist draw if we had even Class 2 gambling, which is what Wind Creek has. (Class 3 gambling includes table games and casino-style slots, but is limited to Seminole and Miccosukee Indian-owned and operated casinos such as those in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa.) People would come to play the slots and find our beaches (eventually, hopefully) to be as clean and white as they once were. The state would get its share of much-needed revenues, from tourists no less, and the gaming would be the magnet to bring people to (and back to) Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key.
The Legislature should grant an exemption to the oil-affected counties in the Panhandle and allow Class 2 gambling at non-Indian sites. There is already a precedent: Broward County allows Class 2 at existing pari-mutuels. Good for Broward, but the Pensacola dog track isn't on the beach. We need beach sites to make this work.
There are moral and economic negatives to gambling, to be sure. But the benefits, we believe, outstrip the objections. And we have watched for years as our dollars go to Mississippi casinos. We need the money here. Casino gambling can be part of the solution. Our local legislative delegation ought to ask for an exemption.
It's a win-win.
