In one of the very few instances in the last few years, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was unable to convince legislators to approve his Miami Beach Casino proposal. He pushed to bring a long-sought casino to Miami Beach, but his plan fell apart very quickly.
This is because DeSantis had key legislative leaders opposing his bid. Several Miami Beach leaders and its wealthy Florida billionaires like hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin were strongly against it. However, with the traction DeSantis gained last year during his presidential run, many expected him to get his way.
Although the governor has been relatively quiet about his support for the legislation, House Speaker Paul Renner mentioned that he was equally eager. He also stated that he spoke directly to DeSantis about the bill.
Furthermore, many anonymous lobbyists who support the gambling bill said that the governor and his administration encouraged legislators to move the bill forward this year. The bill was supposed to put a casino in the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. This hotel is popular as the movie location of the James Bond classic movie, “Goldfinger.”
The popular Frank Sinatra also frequents this location. If they add a casino to this, there would be an incredible amount of retunes for real estate billionaire and owner Jeffrey Soffer. The billionaire also owns a gambling operation in nearby Broward County.
A spokesperson for the Florida governor, Jeremy Redfern, gave a lengthy statement about the bill and the administration’s stance. The legislation would have contracted gambling operations in South Florida “in exchange for the relocation of the other license out of a residential blue-collar community to a tourist-focused beachfront hotel.”
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“We supported a proposal that would have not authorized any new gaming or construction of new casinos,” Redfern said. “Instead, it would have closed a large facility in Hollywood, Florida, converting many acres of former dog track and gambling venues into needed housing and beautification for Broward County,” he added.
He also acknowledged the massive funds the bill would have brought to the state. He said, “[The bill] would have brought massive, tangible improvements to Broward County and simultaneously brought over $120 million (largely from out-of-state visitors) to public projects in South Florida simply by moving existing slot machines to an existing hotel.”
Therefore, it was left to the lawmakers to review it sometime this week in a Senate committee. However, State Senator Joe Gruters, who doubles as the chair of the committee, announced that they dropped it.
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According to him, it was clear that House leaders, including Renner, opposed the bill. Therefore, there was no point calling for a gathering when it was clear that they were not going to approve it.
“I was supportive of bringing it up and giving it a hearing,” said Gruters, who also did not support DeSantis’ bid for president. “But it was going to be a huge ordeal. Why put everybody through that if the bill is dead?”
However, all hope is not lost yet for those who really want them to pass this bill. There are several rumors that the issue will return during the 2025 legislative session.
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