Associated Industries of Florida took its proactive endorsement of the destination gaming bill, which could mean up to three mega-casinos in South Florida, to the Capitol on Tuesday.

But one of the sponsors of the bill didn’t fully embrace the support.

State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, said the focus needs to be on the effort to create a commission that oversees gambling -- from the Florida lottery to pari-mutuels -- in the state, not unsubstantiated job claims that have accompanied those hoping to benefit from the prospect of three 5-star casinos at $2 billion each.

“We know that we’re going to bring in money we don’t have now, we know that there are going to be jobs, we know there is going to be economic development, how much is less relevant than the concept of creating a strategic direction,” Bogdanoff said Tuesday following an AIF media conference outside the Senate doors in the Capitol.

“Every special interest comes with their own focus,” she added. “The pari-mutuels, ‘We want more, more, more.’  AIF, ‘We want economic development.’ Everybody, the Las Vegas Sands and Gentings of the world, because they want an opportunity to make money.

“How do you know how to get there if you don’t know where you want to go?”

The Senate’s Regulated Industries Committee is scheduled to discuss the bill Wednesday morning.

AIF, backed by others in the South Florida construction industry, but opposed by other business groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Disney, say the bill means jobs.

People are out there looking for jobs and they want to get off the unemployment rolls, but the jobs are simply not appearing,” said Brewster Bevis, AIF vice president of external relations.

AIF, which has started to run commercials on cable TV in Tallahassee with the target being state legislators who are in the capital for the final committee week before the regular session in January, says the three casinos that would be allowed under the bill would mean 50,000 construction jobs, up to 50,000 permanent jobs, another 100,000 indirect jobs, plus millions in hotel revenues.

On Nov. 16, Bogdanoff called similar economic and job projections proposed by Genting during a Senate committee meeting on the bill "over the top."

Bevis noted that Forbes magazine recently ranked Miami as the worst place to find work.

“Yes, worse than Detroit, Mich. That is simply a travesty,” Bevis said.

Bevis declined to comment on whether Genting Group, which paid $236 million for the Miami Herald waterfront land in downtown Miami and intends to seek one of the potential casino licenses, has funded the business group's pro-destination resort ad campaign.

“We have never answered or said who our membership is,” Bevis said.

Last month, the Florida Chamber rejected a $25,000 contribution from Genting.

No Casinos, the group opposed to the casino bill, was the first to run ads in the region.

No Casinos includes the Florida Chamber, Disney, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Florida Attractions Association.

See the No Casino ad here.

 

 

Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or (772) 215-9889.