Nevada casino companies want to create jobs … in Florida

The consensus in Nevada is there won't be any major new developments on the Las Vegas Strip for years, maybe more than a decade.

But that doesn't mean Nevada companies won't be growing, they're just looking to do it in Florida.

A report from the St. Petersburg Times says Florida Gov. Rick Scott has consulted with Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands and a major GOP benefactor, about the possibility of destination style resorts in Miami Beach, Tampa and as many as three other locations.

Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming are among other companies the article reported are interested in Florida.

An excerpt from the article:

One plan would also require that the proposed casino resorts be at least 75 miles apart, and, in return for the exclusive operation in a region, the casino operator would pay a one-time application fee of at least $50 million — up-front cash that would help fill the state's $3.5 billion budget hole. Another plan would allow competing casinos to operate along a Las Vegas-style strip.

"The concept is not just to create a source of revenue for the state that could equal or surpass the lottery," said Al Cardenas, a Miami lobbyist for Wynn casinos. "More important is the billions that would be invested in our state and the creation of tens of thousands of permanent, high-paying jobs."

Major casino resorts in Florida would be more competition for Las Vegas, which is already struggling with an unemployment rate of more than 14 percent and stagnation in real estate and construction. About half of the domestic visitation to Las Vegas comes from sources that are as close or closer to Florida than Nevada, including the southern, eastern and some midwestern states, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.