Gambling giant Genting Malaysia Berhad recently entered into a consulting agreement to oversee all casino operations at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, including financial reporting, slot promotions and player hosting. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Genting Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Michael Levoff said, “Gulfstream Park is a storied race facility which has long been considered a leader in thoroughbred horse racing. By taking over management of the existing casino, Genting will modernize the current gaming offerings to a similar best-in-class level as the race facility. Gulfstream Park is an ideal location to expand our offerings in the region to include a top casino destination in South Florida.”
Levoff said Genting was not planning to add Gulfstream Park to its Resorts World brand, which comprises 10 large casinos. Most generate more than 10 times Gulfstream Park’s recent fiscal-year slots revenue of $48 million, including New York’s Resorts World Aqueduct, which took in $845 million.
Genting purchased the former Miami Herald site in downtown Miami in 2011 for $236 million, hoping to open a waterfront resort-hotel casino. It has not developed the property as it has unsuccessfully tried to get the state legislature to allow it to open a gaming facility there.
Genting came closer than ever before to a Miami casino last December when Governor Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe of Florida agreed to a $3 billion, 7-year deal that also would have included an additional gambling license in Miami-Dade awarded via competitive bidding.
Meanwhile Genting has strengthened its presence in Florida presence by opening a local office for Crystal Cruises, which it purchased via a subsidiary in 2015, and starting a ferry service to Bimini, where Resorts World Bimini opened in 2013.
