Miami Beach mayor warns of quiet effort to create new casinos in South Florida
Republican leaders in Tallahassee are quietly considering an effort to allow casino owners to transfer gambling licenses to venues in locales that have banned gaming and preempt local restrictions, setting up a fight between cities, anti-gaming forces and state lawmakers in Florida, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber warned Wednesday.
Gelber raised his concerns during the city’s commission meeting, saying that private conversations in Tallahassee could lead to legislation that would allow for a casino at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel. Jeffrey Soffer — who owns the Fontainebleau and the Big Easy Casino in Broward County — has pushed for years to allow for gambling at his Beach resort.
Gelber also alluded to efforts by Genting Group, which owns the former Miami Herald bayfront property near downtown Miami, to build a casino resort. Also Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the Trump Organization is lobbying for legislation in Tallahassee that would allow for a casino at the Trump National Doral Miami.
“This is a very frightening moment,” Gelber said, later telling the Miami Herald that “the measure ... is going to first help give it to the Fontainebleau, and then one of those other two locations.”
Efforts to reach the Fontainebleau and Trump Organization were not immediately successful.
Gelber raised the issue Wednesday ahead of a unanimous vote to authorize the acting city attorney to hire outside counsel to, “if necessary, initiate a legal challenge to any action by the Florida Legislature to permit casino gambling in the City of Miami Beach or in Miami-Dade County.” The mayor also asked the acting city attorney to prepare to challenge any such legislation, though it doesn’t appear a bill has been filed yet.
“Gambling does not belong on Miami Beach,” Commissioner Ricky Arriola said. “We’ll fight tooth and nail.”
Florida law doesn’t currently allow the transfer of gambling licenses. In 2014, the state denied Hallandale Beach casino Gulfstream Park’s effort to transfer a parimutuel permit to the Omni hotel complex owned by Genting.
Billionaire Norman Braman and developer Armando Codina, both staunch anti-casino figures in Florida, called into the video meeting Wednesday afternoon warning the commission of the negative effects a casino expansion would have on the surrounding community. They vowed to fight the effort.
“It would change the fabric of this community forever,” said Codina, a real estate investor who has invested heavily in Doral.
Efforts to expand gaming — and Miami Beach’s opposition to those efforts — have existed for decades, and have ebbed and flowed in recent years.
Genting pressed to change Florida’s gaming laws after buying the Miami Herald’s bayfront property in 2011, with plans of building a mega casino resort. Sheldon Adelson, the late owner of the Las Vegas Sands and a major GOP donor, also took an unsuccessful shot in the past at loosening the state’s gaming restrictions, as did casino magnate Steve Wynn.
Two years ago, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring that any expansion of gaming go to a voter referendum. Gambling in Florida is also strongly influenced by the state’s compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Through it all, Miami Beach’s politicians have repeatedly made clear that they do not want casinos on their barrier island, or anywhere near it. One of their biggest points of concern has been the Fontainebleau, where Soffer has sought for years to establish gaming rights.
“What is different this time is that under the cover of COVID, while Tallahassee was shut down, they have apparently made a lot of in-roads,” said Codina. “This has been done in a dark room.”
Miami Beach state Rep. Michael Grieco told the commission Wednesday that he and state Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-North Miami Beach, were “paying attention” to the legislative movement.
While it appears no bills have been formally filed, Gelber said GOP leaders appear to have support to expand gaming, which he said would “unalterably” change Miami Beach.
“We believe it has the support potentially of the governor and of the legislative leadership,” Gelber said.
Miami Herald staff writers Mary Ellen Klas and Aaron Leibowitz contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 1:07 PM.
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