1_CASINOS

(GAMBLING CASINOS - CONTINUED)

Genting Bhd, purchased the bayfront property in downtown Miami upon which the Miami Herald and The Omni complex currently sit, at a cost of approximately $450 million - cash.

No one spends nearly 1/2 billion dollars and expects legislators, who make $35,000 per year, to reject their bid. To that end Genting has hired a former U.S. Congressman, Lincoln Diaz-Balart , and Harkeley Thorton, a close friend of the Florida Speaker of the House as lobbyists for their interests, and have contributed $186,000 to the Florida Republican Party, according to state records.

The Malaysian group has proposed . . . . .

. . . . . a 5,200 room gambling resort at a cost of $3.8 billion. One might conclude that they are serious. Recently, another group fronted by Miami Heat executive, Pat Reilly, has proposed a casino for Ft. Myers. As reported in the Ft. Myers News-Depressed, Rabbi Diamond opposes a privately-owned casino in favor of one co-owned by Ft. Myers and Lee County. Apparently The News-Press disagrees, opining that it is better to keep the casino earnings here in Lee County rather than spending it in their own communities (like Malaysia?).

As a former business owner and resident of a very corrupt Dade County, in my opinion the only thing worse than having Dade County interests running Lee County Casinos would be to have Gary Aubuchon and Tammy Hall in charge. Here is how I would handle it:

First, Florida Law should include approval by the voters of the county in which casinos would be allowed.

Second, as the City of Green Bay, Wisconsin did decades ago with the Packers, a corporation would be formed and land acquired by the county; and capital then raised for the total cost of the project through a bond issue.

Then an IPO would be offered to registered residents of Lee County, at a par value of $1.00 per share. No investor would be allowed to purchase more than 2% - ever. Nor would any shares be owned by non-residents of Lee County - ever. The stockholders would choose a board of directors, and the board would hire an experienced casino management team to run day-to-day operations. If we the people don't like how they are running things, we can fire them and appoint a new board.

The ownership would be We The People of Lee County, not some foreign corporation or a few local political hacks.

In the near future, you likely will hear others emulating my suggestions and claiming them as their own. Remember where you read it first.

CRIME?

Gary Aubuchon says SW Florida is a family-oriented tourist destination. Gary Aubuchon says casinos bring crime and will scare families away. Chauncey Goss says the same thing. Whether or not they actually believe that nonsense is irrelevant. Even if they don't believe it, they will believe it because Disney and The Florida Chamber of Commerce, tell them what to believe.

Disney, and (some of) the Chamber donate big bucks to make Gary and Chauncey believe it.

Anti-casino groups have rights too. If they want to contribute to Gary Aubuchon, or Chauncey Goss, or anyone else to buy their vote against casino gambling, it's their right. Of course in most countries that's called a bribe, after all, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that we the corporations are people too (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 [2010]).

I like Las Vegas. I like the shows, the nice hotels, the Grand Canyon. I gamble very little, because . . . well, I'm not stupid. Is there crime in Las Vegas? Sure. Is it caused by the gaming industry? No it's not. In fact the robberies, burglaries, assaults, murders, are overwhelmingly committed by the descendants of retirees from Nellis Air Base - minorities (but it isn't politically correct to say so).

Is crime high in Biloxi? Mt Pleasant? Traverse City? Cripple creek, CO (my favorite), Palm Beach, FL, Bonners Ferry, ID, Riverside, IA, Hinckley, MN, Cherokee, NC, Deadwood, SD, Ft. Gibson, OK, Florence, OR, Marysville, WA? Nope.

And while we're on the subject: Let's face it. SW Florida is not primarily a family destination. Seniors like it here, and I for one like it that way. Let the screaming kids go to Disney World. Send Gary Aubuchon and Chauncey Goss to Disney World. Let Disney World stay out of our affairs.

Nonetheless, job creation in SW Florida would take a back seat to the interests in Tallahassee and Orlando under the guise of "family-friendly" if we elect Gary Aubuchon or Porter Goss to Congress. So why would we?

100,000 CASINO JOBS KILLED BY GARY AUBUCHON (CONTINUED)

Part of Aubuchon’s role is scheduling what bills are heard by the House and eventually voted on.

“As long as I am the Chairman of the House Rules Committee, this bill will not be withdrawn from any committees and is dead for this year,” Aubuchon cavalierly said.

Aubuchon has never been a fan of allowing a further expansion of gambling. “Today’s action on the casino gambling bill is a resounding victory for those of us who have opposed this assault on Florida's family friendly economy,” Aubuchon said.

Gambling advocates said casinos would add thousands of jobs. The Cape Coral lawmaker, in his last session in the Legislature, disagreed. “Casino gambling was never about jobs. This was about casino bosses getting richer on the back of Florida’s families.”ouble click here to add text.

Gary Aubuchon says he wants to represent the people of SW Florida in the U.S. Congress.

As chairman of the House Rules Committee, Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral, is the second most powerful member of the Florida House.

SW Florida has been hit hard by the recession. Two nights ago during an interview, a Las Vegas politico, told an incredulous Fox News reporter that one in sixteen Las Vegas homes was vacant. In SW Florida we call that overcrowding. One in 4 homes is vacant here. Our unemployment rate remains among the nation’s highest. Chinese drywall permeates many dwellings - and Las Vegas whines?

The Florida Hotel and Restaurant Association opposes Casino Gaming in Florida, ostensibly because Casinos may “hurt Florida’s reputation as a family-oriented tourist destination.” They assure us that Casinos bring crime, and we all know that Florida is a crime-free state.

So, the Florida Hotel and Restaurant association held a huge fundraiser in Tallahassee for “powerful” State House Rules Committee chair, Gary Aubuchon, raising a lot of money for him.

A proposal passed by the Florida Senate providing up to five Casinos and over 100,000 jobs in Southern Florida, was DOA in the Florida House. “As long as I am the chairman of the House Rules Committee, this bill is dead . . . .” said Gary Aubuchon. So Mr. Aubuchon is standing in the doorway. Take a bow, Mr. Aubuchon.

Maybe he doesn’t want to see vacationing families with young kids driven away from Lee and Collier counties. But we already have a Casino in Immokalee, a greyhound track in Bonita Springs, the Florida lottery, poker rooms, and online betting in SW Florida. And as I look around, I don’t see a lot of children here. I see a lot of Seniors and retired military - but few children.

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I saw a lot of children - in October, no less. Youngsters enjoying the water slides, the lions at the MGM Grand, Cirque D’Soliel and loads of other shows geared just for kids, the myriad things to see and do on the strip and at the hotels - especially the Circus acts and video games at Circus-Circus. Add to that Fort Myers and Naples beaches, fishing, boat rides in the Everglades, and a plethora of year around outdoor activities, that Atlantic City and Las Vegas cannot offer.

It is my belief that Casinos would be an excellent addition to Ft. Myers or Naples. We would greatly benefit from new jobs, and increased tax revenue. I have no problem with anyone opposing or supporting a piece of legislation out of moral conviction. But if that conviction is greased by campaign donations from far away places like Tallahassee and Orlando, maybe Gary Aubuchon would be more suited as a Congressman from one of those places.