What we think: Betting, but with limits
An Editorial
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Like dice, gambling and controversy sometimes come in pairs, especially in Central Florida. So it's not surprising that a proposal to open a poker room in Longwood is running into some opposition in that Seminole County city.
This proposal, however, differs from gambling pitches made to other communities in the region in recent months. We opposed bids for horse tracks in DeBary and Minneola because they would have imported gambling into those two communities.
The proposal for the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club in Longwood, however, would add a new form of gambling to a pari-mutuel wagering business that has been operating since 1935. Toss in the fact that approval could advance a redevelopment plan in the area, and this proposal deserves the city's approval. At least, if there's a compromise, which we'll get to in a moment.
In Florida, there are 31 facilities where pari-mutuel wagering is legal — horse tracks, dog tracks and jai alai frontons. The Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club is one of only seven that doesn't also have a poker room.
State legislators passed a law more than a decade ago letting pari-mutuels open poker rooms if they get local approval. Most have turned to betting on cards to make up for flagging interest in gambling on horses, dogs and jai alai. The nearest poker rooms are at dog tracks in Daytona Beach and Melbourne.
Penn National Gaming Inc., the Pennsylvania company that bought the Longwood track in 2007, wants to open a poker room as part of a multimillion-dollar makeover of the facility. The plan is expected to create more than 100 jobs and give a big bump to local tax revenues.
If Longwood leaders want to deny a decades-old business in the city a chance to keep pace with its competitors while increasing employment and tax collections, they'd better have some good reasons.
Leading the list of opponents to a poker room is the track's neighbor, Northland, A Church Distributed. The church moved into the area in 1984 and now regularly attracts 8,000 people to its services. Northland has had a friendly relationship with the track; the church has bought property from the track for parking and leases additional acreage.
But Northland's nationally prominent pastor, Joel Hunter, said his church is adamantly opposed to any expansion of gambling at the track. He cited costs of gambling that include crime, reduced productivity, family strife and financial ruin.
The track and the church face each other on opposite sides of Dog Track Road, a sparse corridor between U.S. Highway 17-92 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Longwood leaders have been working with a consultant on a redevelopment plan that envisions turning the corridor into a gateway to the city. The plan foresees retail development, tree-lined walkways and perhaps a new school of technology.
But with the track owning more than 20 of the 70 acres that would be redeveloped, its role would be crucial to the success of the plan. And the track has not made a commitment to participate if its proposal for the poker room gets turned down.
Lawyers for the city and county disagree whether Longwood's leaders could OK the poker room, or the proposal would need approval from voters in a countywide referendum. Longwood is seeking an opinion from the Florida attorney general.
The need for compromise stems from a bill that Gov. Charlie Crist recently signed allowing poker rooms to operate 24 hours on weekends and 18 hours on weekdays, longer than the 12 hours a day that the track in Longwood typically stays open.
The prospect of all-night betting at the dog track, no matter how well run, is a different animal.
We think Longwood should approve a poker room, but only with a commitment from the track not to expand its current hours.