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The Chamber of Southwest Florida 5237 Summerlin Commons Blvd., Suite 114 Fort Myers, FL 33907 Phone: 239-275-2102 Fax: 239-275-2103 E-mail: chamberswf@gmail.com
David K. Miller Interim Administrator
Richard G. Lewis, Ph.D., P.E. Chairman P: 239-936-4003 Chamber Membership
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Bob Rathgeber, News-Press
Expanded gambling is inevitable in the state, so Southwest Florida should be ready to accept it in a responsible way. That was the consensus of a four-person panel on Wednesday who spoke about the possibility of a destination resort casino someday being built in Lee County. The presentation was a one-time event sponsored by the Chamber of Southwest Florida as a way to air the pros and cons of the gambling issue. The gambling topic is expected to be one of the flashpoints in the 2012 legislative session. Two bills have been introduced that would allow destination resort casinos in Florida. As written, the casino bill is specific to Broward and Miami-Dade counties, but some developers are urging the Legislature to allow casinos in other counties as well, pending approval by local voters. |
The group was made up of a rabbi, a public relations consultant, a sheriff and a social agency leader. Only the consultant endorsed a casino. The other three acknowledged the gambling momentum was growing and preparations must be made to handle it.
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“The increase of gambling is inevitable,” said panelist Thomas Louden, area
commander of The Salvation Army. “It probably can’t be halted. Are we ready to make decisions how to handle it?” Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said he’s neither for nor against a casino in Southwest Florida.“I don’t gamble,” he said. “Florida is already a gambling state. Anyone who says anything else is being hypocritical. It’s already here. What are we resisting?” Panelist Phil Nichols, CEO of Whitestar Strategies of Atlanta, represents Champion Development, which has proposed building a billion-dollar complex alongside Interstate 75 stretching from Colonial Boulevard to State Road 82. “This is not some seedy monster coming in,” Nichols said of the proposed development that would include a shopping mall, a 1,500-room hotel and convention center plus a casino. |
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Panelists Phil Nichols, Sheriff Mike Scott, Rabbi Bruce Diamond and Thomas Louden discuss the Casino proposal at the Chamber of Southwest Florida Luncheon. |
Social ills related to gambling are concerns for Louden and Diamond.
“I am an advocate for those who are addicted,” Louden said. “Five percent of gamblers have problem addictions that require life-long treatments.” He said many others are addicted to a lesser degree.
“We see an increase in addiction when gambling is involved.
“There are few studies on the impact of gambling. We are in definite need of long-term, unbiased studies,” Louden said.
Contrary to some reports, Scott said a casino doesn’t necessarily cause a higher percentage of crime. “Anywhere you have a lot of people there’s likely to be an increase in crime.
“Casinos are known for high security. I think it’s unfair to criticize them from a crime perspective. There will be more crime, car break-ins, when JetBlue Park is built. Does that mean then we should not have a new ballpark?”
Champion Development promises the creation of thousands of jobs and Louden said it’s vital to keep the money here.
“We want the jobs, we want to see people employed,” he said. “The dollars need to come back into the community.”
“The vast majority of jobs would be by local contractors. We would not be looking to bring in outside labor,” Nichols said. “Some things can’t be made here or purchased here ... slot machines, for instance, would have to come from outside.”
For the most part it was a friendly crowd toward casinos. There was one vocal dissenter, though. Fort Myers attorney Tom Chase brought in a box of doughnuts, using it as a metaphor, he said, for what happens when a casino is built.
“They give you a real sugar high,” he said, holding up the doughnuts. “Then what? They’ve got you hooked. They drain the economic bone marrow from a community.”