Casino Bill Sponsors Still "Tweaking" Proposal
Friday, December 2, 2011
By: Rick Stone

December 02, 2011 | WMFE - The two South Florida lawmakers who are drafting a casino bill for next month's Legislative session are continuing to refine their proposal and they're trying very hard to make sure it's not misunderstood.

Republican State Representative Erik Fresen of Miami and Broward state Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff, also a Republican, want to make one thing perfectly clear. They don't like gambling.  They wish it would go away.
“If I could hit control-alt-delete.” Fresen said, “I would do away with the lottery, I would do away with slots, I would do away with all of it.”

But the pair are drafting a bill that could allow a series of multi-billion dollar resort casinos under the control of a smart and experienced gambling commission. Bogdanoff says it's a strategy to make the best of a bad, and unregulated, situation.

“Ultimately the goal is to reduce gaming in the state by shutting down internet cafes and moving from predatory gambling to the international resort gaming.” Bogdanoff said.

She also said that Florida's unregulated gambling climate has made it possible for those internet cafes, video slot machines and even the state lottery to make Florida the fourth largest gambling state by sucking money from the pockets of the poor. The big casinos, like the one the Genting Group plans for downtown Miami, would attract overseas travelers who can afford to lose.
The two lawmakers are still tweaking their bill. Fresen says one likely change would give residents a say about casinos in their own counties.
“We probably will have to add a referendum element to the bill. I suspect that's going to happen.” Fresen said.

The casino companies are making extravagant promises about job creation and state revenue. Fresen and Bogdanoff say they wish the gambling operators would tone it down and stop skewing the message which they say is about regulation and order, not the money.