Where South Florida Stands on Destination Gaming

February 7, 2012

This story made the Miami Herald business section Monday with all of two opinions raised at this writing (http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/06/2628176/miami-dades-hotel-rebound-hits.html). It is noteworthy that Miami travel has been soaring at such a high level that a blip like December 2011 brings a caustic, “What if?” Miami knows from experience that the tourism dollar can always turn with one man made disaster, either financial mischief or act of terror. But it is also human nature to become complacent when prospects seem never-ending.

The discussion of destination gambling in South Florida was the literal straw that stirred the citizenship consciousness. The irony that only sports elicits more commentary from the public than gaming legislation is delectable. After this last Friday, Tallahassee likely met for the last time on this legislation in 2012. What remains are a broken bill that needs fine tuning and a lot of questions publically that will only be answered privately: a southern cliffhanger in the land without mountains.

There are many variations of what determines a proponent or detractor of this issue but each stance boils down to two words. For those who seek a continuance of tourism without destination casinos, the question is “why?”  Why change when Miami tourism is peaking? Why risk damaging the Miami brand with what gambling can negatively bring? Why give up the room revenue and risk cannibalism?  

For those who want destination gambling, the question becomes “what?” What jobs will be created if destination casinos are not built? What plan is there to bring higher paid jobs here if casino jobs are not preferred? What is the road map for a city that uses public transportation, not clogged highways to get where they need to go? Both factions possess strong arguments.

The argument brought forth of being concerned about the Florida travel brand smells of complacency. A gambling resort is not going to underscore all the brilliant architecture, dedication to the arts, and preservation of all things historic. The scene only enhances what the heavens bestow: a room of one armed bandits will not eradicate this.  Other voices are concerned about the pitfalls of gambling speak of job creators that are mirages. To compete with other major cities, families need efficient public transportation, not one that connects some areas and leaves others behind. Miami needs a school system that is self sufficient, not bankrupt and asking its teachers to buy supplies. Miami needs roads that are engineered for the future, not the road map unable to handle its population.

But promising jobs and revenue is not a passionate enough argument to alter a moral stance or commerce to share their financial pie. Jobs come and jobs go. What is more important is the legacy one person or company leaves. It is not enough to promise a parking garage. To bring change, the thoughts must be far reaching with willingness to compromise and communicate.

A game changer is to bring public transportation into this debate one way or another. Will a public official/leader of the people with cajones publically endorse this please? One party will combat the cannibalism argument while the other will be encouraged to retire the traffic argument.

It is unfortunate that the war soldiers (missionaries) have retreated back to their battle stations and will continue to plan their attacks out of the public eye. Too bad; things were just beginning to get serious.





Past Florida Destination Gambling Articles:

October 27, 2011: The Miami Gambling Litmus Test

http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-miami/the-miami-gambling-litmus-test

November 9, 2011: Sands Gets where Genting Needs To Go

http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-miami/sands-gets-where-genting-needs-to-go

November 17, 2011: Genting Silence Defining, not Deafining

http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-miami/genting-miami-silence-defining-not-deafening

November 22, 2011: The Disney Hand vs. The Miami Brand

http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-miami/disney-s-hand-versus-miami-s-brand