Florida lawmakers push for Vegas-style casinos

A bill aimed at opening the door to an ambitious, multibillion-dollar expansion of Florida's gambling industry was introduced in the state legislature yesterday.

The Republican-backed proposal, which holds out promises of jobs and money in a bad economy, would create a state agency to license, regulate and enforce gambling throughout Florida.

The Florida State Gaming Commission would award three casino gambling licenses in south Florida's Miami-Dade and Broward counties, in return for an investment of at least US$2 billion by each of the casino operators in Las Vegas-style hotel towers and resort complexes.

State law now bars casinos from expanding beyond businesses operated by the Seminole Indian tribe and selected racetracks and jai alai courts.

Anti-gambling sentiment runs strong in many parts of Florida, but speculation about possible changes in its gambling laws has been mounting for months.

Gambling fever has gripped the state since Malaysia-based Genting Berhad, one of the biggest international casino developers, announced in May that it was paying $236 million for a 14-acre (5.7 hectare) piece of waterfront property in downtown Miami that currently houses the Miami Herald newspaper.

The cash-rich company, which controls casino resorts in Malaysia and Singapore, has conjured up visions of Miami becoming a sort of Macau of the Americas, a palm-fringed playground for global gamblers.