DATELINE USAmarch 2012


MICKEY’S REVENGE


Disney, Seminoles help defeat Florida gaming bill


O


ne of the most powerful forces in the state of Florida is the Walt Disney Corp. The compa-


ny’s Disney World in Orlando attracts millions of visitors to the state, and its deep pockets con- tribute millions to statewide political campaigns. And when you add a new power broker, the Seminole tribe, which operates highly successful casinos in the Tampa and Miami areas, it’s an almost insurmountable barrier. That seems to have been the case with the


commercial casino bill sponsored by Democratic state Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff and Republican Rep. Eric Fresen. It was Fresen’s House committee that spelled the end of the road for the bill. Bogdanoff had been able to pass the bill through a Senate committee, but the real opposition was thought to be in the more conservative House.


After weeks of cajoling and trying to line up


votes in the House Business and Consumer Affairs Committee, Fresen withdrew the bill last month without a vote, leaving open the possibility that it could be added as an amendment to another bill. The move, however, effectively kills the bill for this session of the legislature. The bill called for the establishment of three


destination resorts in Miami Dade and Broward counties—with voter approval—requiring an investment of at least $2 billion each. The bill would have also tightened up loopholes in Florida laws that have allowed more than 1,000 internet cafés to start up and a possible slot parlor in the panhandle town of Gretna surrounding legal bet- ting on barrel racing. “If that doesn’t scream let’s get this together


The Las Vegas Strip would be hardest hit by a higher gaming tax


and put a control on it, I don’t know what else does,” Fresen said. Fresen also pointed to approximately 100,000


jobs that he said would be created by the destina- tion resorts in a state with a higher-than-national- average unemployment rate. In addition to Disney and the Seminoles,


opponents included the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and various religious groups, The failure was a disappointment for the


large casino companies. Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson had courted Florida Governor Rick Scott to support a bill (although Scott never indicated his position on the bill dur- ing the weeks of debate). Wynn Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn proposed a huge resort adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center to help revive that facility. But the company most invested in Florida


was Malaysia’s Genting bhd. Genting paid $236 million to buy 14 acres of waterfront land in Miami, including the offices of the Miami Herald newspaper, as well as contributing more than $600,000 to Florida political campaigns. The company also hired more than a dozen lobbyists to shepherd the bill through the state legislature.


AC OKs Master Plan State and casinos continue focus on economic


recovery


HARD NINE T


A Nevada gaming tax increase proposed for referendum


he organization Nevadans for a Fair 9 Percent Gambling Revenue Tax, backed by conservative businessman Monte Miller, has filed an initiative to


raise the tax for any casino that makes more than $250,000 a month. Existing rates are 6.75 percent on monthly revenues in excess of $134,000; if


the measure went forward, it would affect about 170 of Nevada’s 443 license holders, regulators say. The casinos promise to oppose the plan, saying it amounts to a 33 percent


tax hike on gaming halls. Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association, called the plan “reckless and irresponsible.” Miller justified his position by pointing out that casinos in other states have


much higher tax rates—as much as 50 percent in Illinois and 26.5 percent in Louisiana. In Indiana, Miller said, the tax rate ranges from 15 percent to 40 per- cent. In 2010, that state’s 11 casinos paid nearly $875 million in gambling rev- enue taxes—more than the $835.4 million Nevada casinos paid in the same year. Organizers need to collect more than 72,000 signatures by November to


send the proposals to the 2013 legislature. If lawmakers reject the measures or fail to act on them, they would go to voters in 2014. Polls have shown that Nevada residents would favor an increase in the Nevada gaming tax rate.


8


tlantic City’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has released its ambitious master plan for the state-run Tourism District. Some of the highlights of the plan include:


• Attractions along the two-and-a-half-mile Boardwalk at regular inter- vals including stages, seating and corporate displays.


• Interactive wind sculptures on the beach. • A pedestrian-friendly Pacific Avenue. • Renovating casino parking garages so they can offer cafés and retail at the street level.


• Remodeling of sky bridges to casinos with a more open feel. • Transformation of Atlantic Avenue into a tourist-friendly “Main Street.”


• Expansion of non-gaming attractions like Lighthouse Park and the Gardner’s Basin development, which resembles a seaside fishing vil- lage.


• Converting the former airport, Bader Field, into a mixed-use area that includes “green neighborhoods” and recreational elements.


Governor Chris Christie has invested heavily in Atlantic City, home to


the state’s 11 casinos, as it strives to improve its economic future in the face of declining revenue and competition in neighboring states. Several gaming analysts predict the opening of Revel casino this spring (see page 34) could spark a resurgence of tourism dollars at the resort. Christie has given Atlantic City five years to improve before he will entertain the idea of expanding gaming to other areas of the state.


Global Gaming Business • March 2012


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