FLORIDA: THE 'SLEEPING GIANT' OF GAMBLING? As for gaming in Destin, mayor says its might be 'worth discussing' (POLL)

When it comes to rolling the dice on the craps tables and besting the dealer with a full house in a game of poker, Webster Franklin says Florida is a potential gold mine for gambling.

“Florida is a sleeping giant,” said Franklin, executive director of the Tunica Convention and Visitors Bureau in Mississippi. “It’s already the largest tourism attraction on the East Coast, so when you add that element to it, it’s just that much more money that would be put into the Florida economy.”

Franklin, along with Beverly Martin, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Association, spoke to about 100 tourism and marketing professionals about the gaming industry and its benefits Tuesday morning at the Baytowne Conference Center as part of the Southeast Tourism Society’s spring meeting at the Sandestin Resort.

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Prior to 1994, Franklin told the crowd there was not much happening in Tunica County, and at the time, there was not one stretch of four-lane highway and only one stoplight.  The biggest news in town was the installation of a second stoplight.

When the local government was approached about bringing casinos and gambling to the area, Franklin said they told him they “were crazy” and nobody would want to come to Tunica, Miss., to gamble. Well, after collecting $650 million in gaming taxes since 1994, Franklin said it turned out pretty well.

“We now have one of the best infrastructures around,” he said. “It transformed what we thought of ourselves in Tunica… it transformed, what I think, the tourism industry of my state and somewhat of the Southeast.”

Looking locally, Mayor Sam Seevers said gambling in Destin is something that has been discussed for years.

“It was before my time on council,” she remembered. “People had been talking about it, saying it would help. There was a core group of people who supported it and wanted to do it, but from what I remember the outpouring of people who were against it was overwhelming.”

More recently, Seevers said she was approached at the post office by a long-time Destin resident, who was upset that the city didn’t have any gambling options.

“It was surprising,” Seevers told The Log Thursday. “They said it was a ‘missed opportunity.’ ”

Back at Sandestin, Franklin told the crowd that in addition to the tax revenue brought in from gambling, more than 30 million unique visitors came to Mississippi to visit the state’s 30 operating casinos in the last year alone. He said the gaming industry has been the “catalyst” that helped create the tourism environment that the state is now known for.

Although in most places, gambling is still taboo, he added.

“It’s still not recognized for the economic impact that it had, and for the image-changing ability it had for Mississippi,” Franklin said. “I think elected leaders in our states need to realize the value and to not say what’s always worked is going to continue to work.”

When the Log asked Seevers if she thought gambling would jibe in Destin, she said it was a possibility.

“It might be something that’s worth discussing. It may come out that it’s something we don’t want to do, but who knows?”