Legislature begins session

Gambling bill expanded to lure pari-mutuel support
Struggling against significant opposition to proposed casino gambling for Southeast Florida, the bill's co-sponsor is proposing changes that could diminish some of that resistance.

The original bill by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, called for three destination casinos, each being at least a $2 billion investment, and built the Miami-Fort-Lauderdale area. The push is two-fold: to boost the economy by generating thousands of jobs and to raise more tax money for local and state governments.

Malaysia-based Genting Group, which runs huge casinos in Singapore and Europe, is betting big on the legislation passing by spending about a half-billion dollars to buy prime downtown Miami property on Biscayne Bay. It is proposing a $3.8 billion casino complex. There is also talk of a Champion Development casino plan at The Forum in Fort Myers.