In Florida, rumors are flying that Republicans may submit legislation to legalize casinos in areas where they’ve long been opposed. If that happens, Eric Trump, former President Donald Trump’s son, said he may turn the family’s Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami into a casino. People already are taking sides and gearing up for a serious battle, especially because of Governor Ron DeSantis’ relationship with the former president.
A possible bill would allow developers to transfer gambling licenses to properties in areas where casinos have long been prohibited, barring local municipal governments from intervening. Longtime gambling opponent Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said, “My understanding is they are trying to take the gambling permits that are in South Florida and make them portable and preempt local governments from stopping them.” The Miami Beach City Commission plans to hire outside legal counsel to challenge that provision if the bill passes.
Eric Trump said in a statement to the Washington Post, “Many people consider Trump Doral to be unmatched from a gaming perspective. At 700 acres, properties just don’t exist of that size and quality in South Florida, let alone in the heart of Miami.”
The Doral property has experienced a tremendous drop in business due to Covid-19 and Trump’s controversial presidency. During his term, revenue at the heavily indebted club fell 44 percent in 2020, according to Trump’s government disclosure form.
Trump built an Atlantic City casino empire that ended in bankruptcies in the early 1990s. Prior to entering politics, he repeatedly advocated for the expansion of casinos in Florida.
Currently, gambling in Florida is limited to Seminole Tribe of Florida and Miccosukee Nation casinos and horseracing properties. Observers said this year’s proposal may have a chance to succeed. “We’ve been trying to do this for eight years, and this is the closest we’ve gotten,” said an insider.
The rumor mill says the bill is being shepherded by Senate President Wilton Simpson and could be introduced soon. Simpson’s spokeswoman Katie Betta said in a statement that “gaming negotiations are extremely complicated, and while Simpson believes the efforts are worthy, it is also important to be realistic about where we are.” She added Simpson “has been involved in these negotiations for years, and if they get to a place where he believes an agreement would benefit the state of Florida and have the support of his colleagues in the legislature as well as the governor, he would be happy to discuss further details.” Betta added Simpson has not discussed gambling with Trump.
Observers also said DeSantis recently met with owners of gambling facilities whose business might be hurt by new casinos. Prior to his 2018 election, DeSantis worked to build a relationship with Trump and strongly supported his reelection.
Trump ally and Florida lobbyist Brian Ballard also is working to expand gaming in Florida, said a person close to him who added Ballard is not working on behalf of Trump but for sports leagues and other clients.
Although Republicans control the state House, Senate and executive branch, support for gambling expansion has not always fallen along partisan lines. Miami-area leaders of both parties have teamed up with Disney and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which operates tribal casinos, to defeat past proposals. The state constitution also requires that voters ultimately approve gambling through a ballot measure.
Republican real estate developer Armando Codina, who has developed numerous properties in the Doral area, said he was against the proposal to open a casino at Trump’s property, especially since the negotiations “have happened in a dark room,” he said. Codina said the legislation could make Trump’s resort worth hundreds of millions of dollars more if a casino opened there. But, he stated, “I think this would be bad for Florida, and I think it would be terrible for Miami-Dade County. We’ve created a venue that is a family venue. If this was to happen in Doral, we would over time probably sell a bunch of our interests.”
South Florida billionaire and philanthropist Norman Braman said the Miami area had no need for casinos. “It’s nonsense that tourists will come here to gamble. It just doesn’t make sense. It will feed off the community,” he said.
Both Codina and Braman recently met with Miami Beach city commissioners to express their opposition to the proposal. So did state Rep. Michael Grieco who represents the area. Grieco said he was closely watching the legislature. “I will be the tip of the spear when it comes to anything coming across the House floor,” he said.
After buying the Doral resort for $150 million in 2012, Trump hired a top Florida lobbyist to try to get gambling approved. He told the Miami Herald in 2013, “I think gambling is a good thing for Miami.” During a 2015 Republican primary presidential debate, gambling opponent Jeb Bush, who served as Florida’s governor from 1999 to 2007, accused Trump of trying to buy support for new casino licenses through campaign donations. Trump said, “I promise, if I wanted it, I would have gotten it.”
Trump has a $125 million loan on the property from Deutsche Bank, according to government records. The full extent of its losses is unknown, but according to the New York Times, the resort had lost $162.3 million through 2018.
Besides Trump’s Doral resort, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel also is considered a casino candidate. Owner and developer Jeffrey Soffer has promoted gambling expansion and recently purchased a parimutuel casino and former dog racetrack north of Miami, renaming it the Big Easy Casino. He was also behind the failed Fontainebleau project in Las Vegas that is still an empty shell.
The site of the former Miami Herald headquarters owned by Malaysia’s Genting also has been considered as a potential casino location.
Two people familiar with the proposal said it probably would legalize sports betting and allow the Seminole tribe to control a majority of that market as part of a revised gaming compact with the state.
Florida state Rep. Joseph Geller, a Democrat who tracks gambling issues, said he had not seen any details of the bill. “Usually the whole thing is done behind the scenes,” he said. He noted the former argument that gambling was necessary to plug state budget holes doesn’t apply anymore, since President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus package that directs about $10 billion to Florida. Geller added although Trump remains popular among Republicans, he may not have the support he needs to open a casino. “This guy has bankrupted every casino he’s ever run. How do you bankrupt a casino? I don’t think we need a failed casino. We don’t want to be the next Atlantic City,” Geller said.
