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If dog racing is looked at as being totally inhumane, why are the companies that profited from this act being allowed to make a fresh start in places like Florida.  Well, the fact that it is happening in Florida may be reason enough.  Though I spent five years of my life in that state and have a fondness for it, I cannot say that it is the most progressive territory in the United States of America.  However, I am still baffled by this scenario, especially since Senator Maria Sachs is making it so blatant that she would like to give dog racing tracks slot machines, just so they can stop their races.  If you want dog racing tracks to stop racing dogs, make the practice illegal and close down the tracks.

Perhaps it is a job issue.  There is no state in the nation that is eager to boost their unemployment numbers at this current time.  So I suppose ending the dog racing industry in Florida would not be the best idea.  However, the addition of slot machines at the scale currently being planed by the Florida legislature should more than make up for the jobs ended by banning dog racing.  There is nothing that says the same venues have to offer slot machines so that employees can retain their jobs.  However, there is also clearly a benefit to allowing the slot machines to operate in those venues.  This way slot machines can get operating as quickly as possible with minimal construction.

I have never really trusted the racing community, be it dog or horse racing.  This is not coming from me as some sort of militant animal rights activist.  I do not really care about that especially because race horse are treated better than most horses on the planet.  They are bred as athletes and are raised with the utmost care.  My problem is that people are just not big fans of watching animals run in circles around the track anymore.  For some, yes, it does seem cruel to see muzzled dogs or whipped horses, but for most there is just a lack of interest anymore.  As for gamblers there are other ways to get instant gratification from your wagers.  My problem, personally with the racing community is the fact that they are all trying to get slot machines in order to stay in business when they know that slot machines cannot save their business.

It has always seemed to me that an industry that is falling out of favor with the masses is simply trying to find another way of making money.  I have never seen so blatant an example of this as what Senator Maria Sachs is trying to do for the dog racing tracks of Florida.  She is trying desperately to give the tracks the right to operate slot machines while giving them the right to stop dog racing.  Dog racing is somehow looked at as more inhumane that horse racing.  Regardless, I do not understand why these companies are being given the opportunity to start a whole new industry.

Tribal casinos are expected to pay the state of Florida $233 million a year for the next couple of years.  There is something about this that seems unfair.  At one point in time it made sense.  The only legal gambling in the state was operated by the tribes.  Even more recent the Seminole tribe was given exclusive rights to offer blackjack in the state.  That exclusive right will expire in 2015.  It seems ridiculous to me that the tribes should have to continue to pay the state anything especially now that the state is venturing into building their own casinos and stuffing slot machines in their current and former racing venues.  It seems to me like the tribes are actively being asked to support their competition.

After having the Florida gambling market locked up for the past couple of years, there is no way that the tribes are not going to feel the tremendous blow from the emergence of state operated casinos in Florida.  This is especially true since gambling expansion bill is play will give the state the power to establish a casino anywhere in the state they see fit.  I also have no doubt that by the time the exclusive blackjack rights belonging to the Seminole tribe until 2015 will not be renewed.  The state operated venues will likely want to offer blackjack also and the state is not going to deny themselves of that money making opportunity. I would not be surprised if table games were soon added to their slot machines offerings.

Senator Maria Sachs of Boca Raton, Florida is trying to make some serious changes to the gambling scene in Florida.  At the moment there are only a few specific options for gambling in the state.  The Seminole Tribe has long since held down the market for casinos in the state.  If your looking for slot machines and blackjack, you need only visit one of the Hard Rock Casinos in Florida.  However, you can also get slot machines action now in Miami.  A new slot parlor just opened up in Miami just this year.  But, Sachs is attempting to bring slot machines to the rural counties of Gadsden and Washington.

Her plan is a part of a larger scheme currently in the works in Florida to expand gambling across the state.  Soon gambling will no longer be the exclusive right of the Seminole tribe.  Like many other states in the nation, Florida is looking to profit from expanding there gambling offerings.  Part of expanding gambling for a state is the hope of expanding tourism.  The idea is to not only keep gambling dollars in the state, but also to draw in gambling from neighboring states that either do not have casino offerings in their own state or situated on the boarder making crossing the state line more convenient. Florida differs from most states in that they have significantly more tourism already in place.  Between the beach towns of Florida and Walt Disney World, Florida is already one of the top gambling destinations in the world.  The state should be able to make a significant profit from the additions of slot machines.

I am not quite sure I see the difference.  There has been a wave of interest in outlawing dog racing across the nation.  I know for fact Americans love their dogs.  I have nothing against dogs, but as the son of Jamaican immigrants who grew up without any pets it sort of weirds me out to what extent people love their dogs.  There is that strange subculture of people that call their dogs their children.  To each his own I guess.  Regardless, this bond people have with their pets is part of the reason dog racing has gone out of favor.  The image of dogs that are muzzled and placed in cages for transportation seems not to sit right with people.  Not to mention the moments when a dog gets hurt on the tracks because of the pace and proximity at which they race.  But what about horses?

For some reason there is not the same concern for horses in the racing community.  Both types of tracks are trying to get slot machines to stay in business.  But while many dog tracks are hoping to get slot machines so that they can get rid of their dog races, horse racing venues want slot machines so that they can up their purses and hold more races.  While states like Massachusetts and Florida work to rid themselves of the memory of dog racing they are trying desperately to stimulate the public interest in horse racing once again.  I cannot image racing horses are any more happy than racing dogs.

A person decides, lets do something different tonight.  They call up their friends and decide that a brand new casino a few miles away will be the adventure of choice.  The first stop will be the local ATM to get some cash, this means they do not have to draw money from the overpriced ATM’s at the casino.  They get in their cars and drive across the highways and biways to arrive at a casino.  It may take them a quarter tank of gas, maybe more, maybe less.  Then they play.  One of them may walk away in the black, making a few bucks.  Most of them will have spent their allotted money.  One guy may even spend more than he planned.  The casino takes that money and then gives a big old chunk of it to the State Government.  The Government likely owns the slot machines at the casino themselves.

I illustrate this point to clarify that there is no doubt that casino revenue is tax payer money.  I will not go so far as some as to accuse states of using clever means of taxing their residents, but the money that the states get in tax revenue comes directly out of the tax payer pocket.  It is because of that I believe that the money that comes from taxing slot machines should be better used to service residents.  I am sure most residents do not have any interest in preserving the horse racing industry.  I am certain most of them have never been to a racetrack.

I am currently working in a theatre is struggling to keep its doors open.  They do not know how much we actors know about their financial straits and they are doing a very good job of making every effort to keep up appearances.  The theatre is a beautiful facility and the company has a history of putting on shows that date back at least to the 80 or even possibly the late 70s.  Now that we are in a recession, many of their competing companies have already folded under and they are doing every thing the can not to go the way of the dinosaur.  The state is not likely to step in and give this venue that offers the community art and culture money from slot machine revenues.

I think, once again, we have another example of the states and the country as a whole not having their priorities lined up.  While states could be using their revenue from slot machines on providing their residents with education, sciences, and the arts, they are more concerned with preserving the almost useless horse racing industry.  This is an industry that used to bring state a lot of tax revenue, but those days are long gone.  It is time tax payer money be used for things that will help this country get smarter and be able to compete in a global economy.  The only way to do that is to offer knowledge and perspectives on culture.  It hurts to see art suffer while something like horse racing gets a subsidy.

Disney is very worried about the expansion of casino gambling in Florida.  Florida has had slot machines at tribal casinos for years, but now state sponsored casinos are beginning to crop up.  This means that casino could be built anywhere and not just on a remote reservation.  Disney has built its empire on being entertainment that the whole family can enjoy.  The term Disney movie should honestly be its own rating.  After all it is all you have to say to a parent that is concerned about whether the subject matter of a film is appropriate for children.  So, I suppose this means that slot machines are probably better off not being stationed in Orlando, Florida.  However, Miami does not seem like a bad idea.

Miami has almost the opposite reputation of family friendly Disney.  When I hear Miami I think of long nights of drinking and debauchery.  It seems that most college kids hear the same thing when Miami is shouted.  There are already slot machines operating in Miami and there are likely more on the way.  One of the biggest casino operators in the World, Genting, is planning on building a huge casino in Miami as well.  Perhaps, Florida would be better off keeping the gambling mostly in South Florida where the adults come to play and consider leaving Central, Florida untouched and ripe for family oriented entertainment. That way that can advertise the different regions of Florida to the two very different demographics that look to travel to these places.

Florida has had a long history with casino gambling.  But, until recently casinos had all been owned by Native American tribes.  That is slowly starting to change.  The first shift happened when Miami-Dade county decided to legalize slot machines.  This was the first time in the state that slot machines were suddenly legal off of a reservation site.  The trend is continuing as voters in two rural counties have approved casino grade slot machines for the area.  I could go on and on about how I feel like it is unfair of the state to encroach upon the industry that has been operated by the natives for years… after we all has this country not taken enough from these people, let them have the slot machines.

But I feel like the real question is how all of this new casino activity will affect Florida and its landscape.  Disney, the biggest employer in the state is already concerned that the presence of casinos will harms the Florida, family friendly, reputation that the company has worked so hard to achieve.  But on the other hand Disney got people to fly down to Florida and spend their tourist money year round.  Slot machines and casinos have been known to have the same affect on people.  So we face to possibilities with Florida.  The very adult vibe of casinos may turn off some of the people looking for a family get away or the slot machines will contribute to the tourism empire that Disney built in Florida.

I spend all this time talking about how slot machines do not need to be at racetracks.  I still do not believe that slot machines necessarily need to be at racetracks, as if they are in some great big gambling family.  I also still believe, 100 percent, that all of the money from slot machines could be better used by the state to take care of more important things like education.  And although the most states uses slots money on education, that percentage used to prop up the race tracks could also be used for educations, because is something that a government cannot spend too much money on. However, I never really stopped to think where else a slot machine might be more appropriate.

I know that there are grocery stores in Las Vegas and other parts of Nevada that offer slot machines.  I do not necessarily thing that slot machines are an appropriate fit for a grocery store.  There is even a Perkin’s restaurant owner that plans to install slot machines in the entrance of his establishment.  Once again that does not seem like the classiest fit. I suppose there are few options as to where slot machines might fit in outside of a casino.  I supposed that a racetrack comes closest.  I wonder what will happen with the racing industry when they finally realize that not even subsidies from slot machines can help the industry stay afloat.  I suppose they will simply have to start demanding table games and cards.