Legal settlement could clear path for poker room and jai-alai fronton in Edgewater
The owners of the Magic City Casino are on the path to open a jai-alai fronton in Edgewater after Miami commissioners Thursday settled a long-running lawsuit over the matter.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to settle litigation that has stymied a controversial plan to open a gambling facility at 3050 Biscayne Blvd. The settlement clears a path for West Flagler Associates, the casino’s owners, to proceed with building a summer jai-alai facility and card room inside a large complex that will be developed by Russell Galbut’s Miami-based firm Crescent Heights.
Under the terms of the settlement, the owners would be permitted to open a sports betting operation if the state Legislature legalizes that form of gambling. Other casino games, including roulette, craps, slot machines and virtual lottery terminals, will be permanently banned at that location. The business will only be permitted to operate 16 hours a day.
The terms were enough to satisfy longtime anti-gaming advocate Norman Braman, the billionaire auto magnate who got involved in the litigation to block the facility.
Some conditions of the settlement are attached to an ordinance that passed on first reading Thursday, so a second vote is required on April 8 to finalize the deal. With four of five commissioners in favor this week, the second vote could be a mere formality.
“We’re happy. We worked with the city in good faith. We worked with Norman Braman in good faith,” said Isadore “Izzy” Havenick, vice president of West Flagler. “We’re pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s meeting. We hope that second reading is similar, and we can’t wait to open a new entertainment facility on Biscayne Boulevard that residents of Miami are proud of.”
Commissioners could consider banning future gambling establishments from the city’s Miami 21 zoning code. The discussion is expected at an April meeting.
Opposition from the beginning
West Flagler first received a state permit to proceed with the establishment in July 2018. The news set off a strong reaction from anti-gaming neighbors and luminaries in Miami, including Braman and real estate developer Jorge Perez.
In 2019, Miami commissioners approved a change in city law that made it harder for gambling sites to open under the city’s zoning code. Braman’s legal team had pushed the legislation and even helped draft the language and staff analysis of the change, a deep level of involvement revealed by the Miami Herald in February 2020.
West Flagler sued, arguing the city had moved the goal post after previously issuing zoning opinions that stated gambling was allowed under the city code. In early 2020, three of of five commissioners voted to settle the suit, but Mayor Francis Suarez vetoed the settlement. Braman, a donor to Suarez’s political campaigns, had urged the city to keep fighting the development.
In January, a judge upheld Suarez’s veto, and the parties resumed settlement negotiations. After several delays, Thursday’s settlement was accepted by most involved, including Braman.
“While we have not reached a ‘global agreement’ on all issues, I am satisfied that the final draft of the revised settlement agreement between the city and West Flagler Associates limits the uses to a summer jai-alai fronton, a card room and potential sports betting” Braman wrote in a letter to Commissioner Ken Russell, whose district includes Edgewater.
Braman’s flagship auto dealership is just a few blocks south of the location of the proposed gambling facility. He is also the former owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
Braman suggested a broader fight against more gambling in the city of Miami remains his focus. The context around the Edgewater fight has changed — speculation is swirling about whether state lawmakers will alter Florida’s gambling laws, particularly as interested developers use their wealth and celebrity connections to push for changes that could open the door for more gaming in Miami-Dade County. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Senate President Wilton Simpson recently told Florida’s top pari-mutuel officials that a gaming deal is close.
“Other gambling issues beyond this settlement agreement can be left for another day, with the good-faith expectation that you will work with me on a way to stop any future gambling in the city,” Braman wrote to Russell.
Russell is lone vote against
On Thursday, Russell was the lone no vote on the settlement. He unsuccessfully argued that the commission should keep fighting in court to support the city’s right to impose the tougher requirements implemented in 2019, changes he sponsored. The city code now requires four out of five commissioners to approve new gambling facilities.
“I feel like we’re just talking about settlement right out of the gate, and we’re not defending our code,” Russell said.
Russell echoed the opposition from residents in a local neighborhood association who have fought against the development.
“This is not the kind of establishment that people want,” said Andres Althabe, president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association.
Suarez told the Herald he had not decided if he would veto the settlement again, noting that four votes is enough to override his veto pen.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 3:11 PM.
