Legislators gambling you'll ignore hypocrisy

Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel Columnist
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday. April 15, 2009

I admit it: I like gambling.

I love bellying up to a craps table, the thrill of pocket aces in a no-limit poker game and even the mindless entertainment of spinning reels on a slot machine.

I'll drive to Tampa or fly to Vegas for a date with Lady Luck.

But I have no desire for her to move in next door. And I know many Central Floridians feel the same way — which is why legislators shouldn't pursue plans that could allow casinos to sprout all over the state.

What they should do, however, is allow the places that already have gambling to have the kinds of games they want — and then rake in the taxes that will keep our schools open.

See, what I just proposed is a common-sense compromise — which is why it probably faces long odds in a place like Tallahassee.

Tallahassee, after all, is where demagogues thrive. It's where the teetotaling moralist screams and wags his finger in one corner and the gambling shill waves overinflated economic-stimulus reports produced by the gambling interests in another.

Neither one really cares as much about public policy as they do about sating their base.

Meanwhile, Floridians lose out.

The most glaring example is the compact with the Seminole Tribe — a deal that has gobs of money piling up, but unavailable, to residents.

Charlie Crist had this one right. The idea is to allow the Seminoles to set up card games and Vegas-style slots in their existing casinos in exchange for as much as $400million a year to plug our ailing budget.

Those who try to portray this deal as a major expansion of gambling are as deluded as the roulette player who's sure he has a winning "system."

Right now, the Seminoles operate more than 3,300 machines at their expansive Hard Rock resort in Tampa. You can see a similar sea of slots at the Hard Rock in South Florida. The gamblers are already there. So it's hard to see how anyone can honestly argue that 100 more table games would change the face of gambling in the Sunshine State.

People are already betting $25 a hand on video versions of cards. But we have lawmakers trying to stop them from betting $10 on real ones.

And please, dear lawmakers, don't give me any moralistic malarkey about gaming being evil — not as long as you're using the Lottery to balance your budget and free up money to renovate your members-only dining room and provide your complimentary health care.

The hypocrisy of these alleged family-values yahoos decrying casinos — while running a state that actually takes out ads urging Floridians to spend $30 on a single scratch-off ticket — is staggering.

There are legitimate concerns about gambling's social woes. But I'd rather hear a sober debate on that topic from someone not currently profiting from its spoils.

On the other side, though, we have the gaming companies hoping to use the current economic crisis to plant the seeds for completely new gambling outlets all over the state — everywhere from Ocala to Flagler County.

They're talking of new horse tracks ... which would probably come with new card rooms ... which could one day lead to new casinos. Counties mentioned as possibilities include Marion, Flagler, Lee and more.

And that's where lawmakers need to apply the brakes — at least until residents in all of those places get a chance to weigh in on the future of their own communities.

(For those wondering about casinos at Seminole County's dog track or jai alai fronton, don't hold your breath. Regardless of what action the Legislature takes, county residents put a casino ban into their charter back in 1996. Only a countywide vote could change that.)

So, legislators: Let the Seminoles have whatever games they want in the casinos they already have.

Let South Floridians — who already voted to bring in more gambling — have their way, too.

Let responsible adults make their own decisions about whether or not to play.

But don't use the current economic crisis as an excuse to shove casinos down the throats of communities that don't want them.

Just do your job.

Keep our schools open, our cops on the street and our vulnerable protected.

And save the demagoguery for your next fundraiser.

Scott Maxwell, who actually enjoys a suited jack-10 almost as much as the pocket aces, can be reached at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com.