Dan Adkins Bid to Bring Slots to Broward County

Dan Adkins submitted his application to run slot machines to the state last week and is hoping to hear the one-armed bandits chiming by September. Three other Broward gambling venues will follow.

If Adkins' predictions are correct, he could be remembered as the man who brought $1 billion in annual revenue to local racetracks, boosting tourism, raising tax dollars for public education and reviving a struggling racing business.

South Florida will soon start to feel the effects of Dan Adkins' successful campaign as the Mardi Gras Race Track and Gaming Center, formerly called the Hollywood Dog Track, gears up for its reopening.

From the beginning, Adkins has led the push for slots. He pitched the idea within his industry when many thought a victory was impossible. He wagered his company's money and persuaded others to join in. He served as the public face of the campaign. He was the target of opponents who said slots would bring crime, traffic and addiction.

Dan Adkins is a Republican raised in the Mormon Church, which frowns on gambling. Yet he runs three racetracks and spent the past six years battling the governor he helped vote into office over slot machine legalization.

Dan Adkins' single-minded drive for slots has earned him big fans and bitter enemies.

"Danny is probably the most despicable human being I've ever met," said Jack Cory, a Florida Greyhound Association lobbyist who says Adkins breaks promises to get what he wants.

Wednesday, 16. 2006
Kori Woffendin