Sun-Sentinel – Palm Beach County inched closer toward becoming slot-friendly on Monday. Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, told fellow members of the Senate Committee on Gaming that she is amending a sweeping bill that would add two casino resorts to South Florida. She wants the six counties that have recently passed nonbinding referendums for slots to be allowed to join Broward and Miami-Dade counties in offering them at dog tracks, horse tracks and jai-alai frontons.
“I’ve been doing some serious thinking, and I bet on this great state of Florida,” she said. “And I’m very proud to represent counties that have done very well with pari-mutuels.”
The counties in which voters voiced support for slots are Palm Beach, Gadsden, Washington, Lee, Hamilton and Brevard. The lone operating pari-mutuel in Palm Beach County is the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach.
About 56 percent of Palm Beach County residents voted in favor of slots in a November 2012 referendum. The vote was nonbinding because slot machines are legal only by constitutional amendment or by legislative approval, which Sachs is seeking.
Palm Beach County leaders have reasoned that slot machines can be found just across the Broward County line — at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek and the Isle Casino and Racing in Pompano Beach — and those businesses say about one-third of their revenues come from Palm Beach County. Supporters argued that tax revenue from Palm Beach gamblers should stay at home.
Sachs’ amendment is in the drafting process and will be made public in a couple of days, her office said. Sachs was unavailable for comment after the meeting.
