Opinion is split on where to put up the stop sign.

Robins thinks any casino in the Downtown area would have a negative impact on his plans and others.

“It’s bad for Miami and I think it’s going to be bad for business,” Robins said. “These projects would be in a position to artificially compete with other businesses and put them at an extremely competitive disadvantage. It could fundamentally damage the character and spirit of the great projects that are already happening in Miami.”

But management for Bayside Marketplace and Mary Brickell Village both say they would welcome a casino and the visitors it would bring.

“Our feeling is that any economic development would be good,” said Pam Weller, general manager at Bayside.

Kerry Newman, a broker with Koniver Stern that handles the leasing for Mary Brickell Village, said ultimately the retailers will decide if the demand is there. “The retailers won’t come in unless they feel they can do the business,” he said.

Fueling concerns over Resorts World Miami is a proposal for what Genting says would be one of the largest casinos in the United States. Plans unveiled last year featured a dramatic design inspired by a coral reef with four hotels and 5,200 hotel rooms, a 3.6 acre outdoor lagoon, more than 50 restaurants and bars, a luxury shopping galleria with about 60 shops and a rotating vendor marketplace. The restaurants and retail together represent nearly one million square feet.

The restaurants alone number about double those at major Las Vegas hotels. Caesar's Palace leads the list with 26 restaurants and bars, not including those at the attached Forum Shops, and MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay, are close behind at 24.

The project would be akin to “an atomic bomb,’’ said David Wallack, the owner of Mango’s Cafe on Miami Beach and Power Studios in the Design District. “It needs to be on the proper scale so that it doesn’t annihilate everything in the area.”

Genting executives say the size of Resorts World Miami — particularly the retail and restaurant space — will be reduced as the company adjusts its plans based on feedback from the community.

“The design is in a bit of a state of flux,” Hoppe said. “Our desire is not to engulf everything that exists in Miami.”

Representatives of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which also wants to build a Miami casino, said its resort would be more modest in size.

“We’re not going to go head to head with local established restaurateurs,” said Andy Abboud, Sands’ vice president of government relations. “We’ve got to bring new stuff to the marketplace.”

Although Sands has not settled on a Miami location — it favors the Miami World Center site — the company envisions a hotel with no more than 2,000 rooms and about a dozen restaurants. The project would also include one million square feet of convention space and a 500,000 square foot retail shopping mall.

Genting argues that what distinguishes it from Sands or any other Vegas operator is an “open access” program, which encourages guests to leave the hotel. Genting’s WorldCard program allows guests to take the rewards points rung up at Resorts World Miami and “spend’’ them at off-site partner establishments. In most other casino loyalty programs, points can only be used for discounted or free offers within the hotel.

Consumers can ring up loyalty points on the Genting card while dining or drinking at member establishments. There’s no charge to merchants or consumers to participate. Genting doesn’t take a percentage of sales. But the merchant has to float the bill for 30 days before it receives payment from Genting and may lose the cost of a processing fee on the transaction reimbursement.

Steve Haas, the owner of City Hall the Restaurant just up Biscayne Boulevard thinks he will benefit from additional tourist traffic and still maintain his local consumer, which is the core of his business.

“I don’t think locals will actually go there on a regular basis,” Haas said. “I think most of the neighborhood will end up avoiding the hotel. We will go there once in awhile, when people come to visit.”