John Brunetti, owner of Hialeah Park racetrack, hopes to open a new “entertainment center” with a poker room and jai-alai fronton plus other attractions for families in Florida City by the end of the year. “We have to figure out a way to get everyone from the Florida Keys to come. That will be our big push,” Brunetti said. Florida City is the last stop from Miami-Dade County on the turnpike to the Florida Keys. The closest card room is 35 miles north at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming.
The Florida City council recently approved zoning for Brunetti’s venture, to be built on 38 acres he purchased for $6.7 million late last year. Mayor Otis T. Wallace said, “I’m excited about the prospects. It will have a whole spillover effect on other businesses and be a catalyst to the area.”
Hialeah Park acquired state approval for an extra jai-alai license under a 1980 law that was revisited in 2011, allowing the lowest-performing parimutuel in a county with at least five existing permits to receive a summer permit. As a result, Brunetti could offer jai-alai and then open a poker room, which is legal at all parimutuel facilities. He is not seeking permission to offer slots.
However, if the state legislature approves decoupling—allowing parimutuels to offer slots or poker without running races or jai alai—Brunetti’s plans could change dramatically.
