New Slots in Florida

Gov. Jeb Bush, long an opponent of gambling, signed into law Wednesday a bill allowing Las Vegas-style slot machines in four Fort Lauderdale area betting sites. The move ends a long battle between gambling opponents and advocates who argue the machines will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for schools. The state will receive 50 percent of the machines' profits and must spend the revenue on public schools. Thoroughbred racing's Gulfstream Park, Dania Jai-Alai, Pompano Park harness racing and Hollywood Greyhound Track can install slot machines within six months.

"I oppose the expansion of gambling because it is detrimental to Florida's economic development and hurts Florida's families. However, I have a constitutional duty ... to implement the voter approved initiative," Bush wrote in a letter for the bill signing. The Legislature passed a bill regulating and taxing the machines during a special session last month. Voters in 2004 amended the constitution to allow Broward and Miami-Dade counties to decide whether tracks and jai-alai arenas should be able to have slot machines. Miami-Dade voters rejected the machines while Broward approved.