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1619-5-9 Convention bureau board endorses casino proposal Gambling proponents have organized a political action committee to raise money for contributions to candidates, and they may make another effort to put the issue to a vote in 1984. Several hotels, including the Konover and the Eden Roc, are trying to bring more name entertainment acts back to Miami Beach, while the Fontainebleau has begun a musical revue called "Stompin' at LaRonde. " Meanwhile, the Visitor and Convention Authority has scheduled an outdoor concert series. C.W. Cramer, the authority's executive director, said those efforts could help hotels to attract more guests. The South Beach redevelopment plan, stalled for years, could add more hotel rooms and boost tourism if the city can find a developer to undertake the project. Cramer said the authority also is investigating the possibility of developing a theme park that could lure more vacationing families. With the tourism promotions that are under way, the expected easing of the recession and a further improvement of South Florida's image, hoteliers hope to be able to fill the new supply of rooms they'll soon have to offer. CORRECTION A story in the Money tabloid of Dec. 13 incorrectly stated that the Lido Spa Hotel, at 40 Island Ave. on Belle Isle, had closed permanently. The hotel closed for the summer but reopened for the winter season Oct. 24, said general manager Donald Robinson. KEYWORDS: MD MI MB TOURIST STATISTICS CG TAG: 8301070483 CONVENTION BUREAU BOARD ENDORSES CASINO PROPOSAL 10/26/1994 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1994, The Miami Herald DATE: Wednesday, October 26, 1994 EDITION: FINAL SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: 4B LENGTH: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Patrick ROBERTS, Thomas KRAMER SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: TOM FIEDLER Herald Political Editor CONVENTION BUREAU BOARD ENDORSES CASINO PROPOSAL The governing board of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, which represents nearly 1,100 tourism-related businesses, Tuesday endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize casino gambling in Florida. The vote came after spokesmen on either side of the controversial issue debated before the board members, but with a surprising twist. Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber, who has been a leading critic of the ballot measure called Proposition 8, told the group that he was not only sympathetic to their concerns about a decline in tourism, but was not adamantly opposed to casino gambling. "You have never heard me say I am against casino gambling. What I am against is this contract," Gelber said, waving a copy of the proposed amendment. He told the crowd, which included several hotel and resort managers, that if any of their lawyers recommended to them that they agree to the proposal's provisions, "you should sue them for malpractice. " Patrick Roberts, who masterminded the campaign to bring the so-called Proposition for Limited Casinos to the Nov. 8 ballot, appeared surprised by Gelber's position. "History has been made, " Roberts said. "Mayor Gelber agrees with casino gambling. " Proposition 8 would amend the Florida Constitution to allow 47 casinos to operate across the state. Thirty of those would be at existing horse or dog tracks and jai-alai frontons -- a decision Roberts said was necessary to keep the parimutuels alive. He said an $85 million horse track outside Minneapolis recently filed for bankruptcy after Indians opened a casino nearby. The other casinos would be spread among Florida's largest counties, with three allocated to Dade -- two of those for Miami Beach -- two for Broward and one each for Orange, Hillsborough, Duval, and Pinellas. The Legislature also could approve up to five riverboat casinos. Gelber scoffed at the proposition's title: "The idea that this is 'limited' has a lot of humor to it, " he said. But Roberts countered that because the casinos would be spread across the state, and the number could be changed only through a future constitutional amendment, the measure would legitimately "limit" casino gambling. "What you get this year is what you'll have in 10 years and forever, " Roberts said of the proposition. "This won't create a Las Vegas strip. This won't create another Atlantic City." Gelber, however, assailed the proposition as written to benefit a few special interests, including Miami Beach developer Thomas Kramer, who has warred frequently with the city. The amendment would put one of the Miami Beach casinos in the 250- acre South Beach redevelopment area, where Kramer owns the largest undeveloped piece. Kramer has entered into an agreement with casino mogul Steve Wynn, president of Mirage Resorts in Las Vegas, to build a 1,000-room hotel and casino on that parcel near the tip of South Beach -- an undertaking Gelber said would cause nightmarish problems for the city. Roberts, however, said the proposition wouldn't mandate that Kramer' s property win the bid. But even if it was selected, Roberts said Kramer could never meet the rigid requirements for holding a casino license. "He's a lousy human being, " Roberts said. "He's a wild man. Insane. " Kramer's only role would be to make the land available to Wynn, whose corporation would build and operate the casino, Roberts said. He praised Wynn as being the preeminent leader in the industry. The mayor also challenged Roberts' claim (thatif Proposition 8 passes, no other casinos will follow. On the contrary, he said other casino operators will bankroll future amendment drives to allow them to move into Florida. And small hotel owners on South Beach will push for the ability to introduce slot machines. Without money from slots, these hotels would not be able to match the cut rates offered by casino hotels, which subsidize rooms and meals with gambling winnings, the mayor said. Before long, Gelber said, "the politics in this state will be dominated by the gambling interests. " Roberts, however, said any attempt to expand gambling in the future would be vehemently fought by the casino operators who win franchises under Proposition 8. It would be in their interests to limit gambling, and they would "fight like hell" to keep newcomers from diluting their business, he said. Gelber told the group that he would support a tightly constrained form of casino gambling, as is done in Europe and in Puerto Rico, without slot machines. He indicated he would also support a proposition to ask voters simply whether they want to legalize casino gambling, without allocating locations. In a meeting after the debate, the bureau's board voted 15-6 to endorse gambling, with one member abstaining.