Playing in Miami Beach? No thanks!

Notice

By Jacquelynn Powers Maurice

Vegas by the sea? No thanks!

With the Florida Legislature returning, a bill is on the table that would expand casino gaming to Miami Beach and beyond.

The only problem? Miami Beach residents don’t want slot machines along their shores.

The electorate – myself included – has repeatedly (and resoundingly) voted against bringing the game to the beach for years.

Nonetheless, Senate Bill 1054 seeks to circumvent local municipal and zoning regulations by waiving the statewide and countywide voter referendum, as required by the Florida Constitution.

Clearly, hoteliers like Jeffrey Soffer, owner of the Fontainebleau, Miami Beach’s largest hotel, want to reap lucrative casino revenues, regardless of what locals have to say.

Billionaire Soffer, who was married to model Elle Macpherson, has long been attracted to the casino sector.

He’s also one of the loudest video game champions in Miami.

In 2005, he purchased the famous Fontainebleau property where Sinatra and the Rat Pack sang and partied.

Known as the jewel of Miami Beach, this elegant 22-acre oceanfront resort would certainly make an ideal site for a casino.

But just because it is built like a casino doesn’t mean it should become A.

Despite aggressive lobbying and political donations, the property failed to obtain a gaming license.

That could change this year, during Florida’s legislative session, which runs through March.

The premise of the bill is based on portability.

It allows an existing casino owner to transfer their gaming license within a 30 mile radius of their current location.

Ding! In 2018, Soffer purchased the decidedly downscale Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach. Guess what? It’s less than 30 miles from Fontainebleau.

To achieve this, Soffer was accused of using his influential friends like football legend Tom Brady to charm politicians (often on his yacht) into passing legislation that would make this portability possible.

While he’s actively courting Florida Poles, Soffer finally got his wish of owning a major hotel and casino last year with the opening of the Fontainebleau’s sister property in Las Vegas.

Located on the north end of the Strip, Soffer hosted a glitzy grand opening with celebrities including Justin Timberlake, who was paid $6 million to perform in front of a star-studded crowd, and posed glamorously while playing craps with Soffer.

Long live Las Vegas! The $3.7 billion hotel is magnificent.

But please don’t bring the game to Miami Beach, which is already overwhelmed by rampant development, climate change, old infrastructure and crime.

Free slots are the last thing we need.

The Fontainebleau is a stone’s throw from 41^st Street, one of the main – and often congested – arteries leading to and from Miami Beach.

According to Miami Heraldthe Florida Department of Transportation has described our roadways as being “on the brink of failure.”

Plus, players have no shortage of options in South Florida.

There are several casinos in Miami and neighboring Broward County, including Soffer’s Big Easy Casino, Magic City Casino, Gulfstream Park and Hard Rock, whose illuminated guitar-shaped silhouette is visible for miles.

And Miami Beach isn’t the only one that could soon get in on the game. If passed, the “portability” bill would also mean that former President Donald Trump’s property, Trump National Doral, would be eligible for a casino.

I don’t need to remind anyone in the tri-state area how Trump’s previous casino adventures played out in Atlantic City, where the Taj Mahal and his other properties went bankrupt.

A potential president owns a casino.

Let’s not go there – especially given Trump’s never-ending legal troubles. Yet Eric Trump has been seeking a license for years, even as Doral faces traffic and overdevelopment problems every bit as bad as Miami’s.

Look, I’m not a pearl-hungry prude. I love a trip to Vegas! I come from a long line of gamblers and my father taught me to play baccarat when I was seven.

New natural. I bet it’s all black. Double down. Yes, yes and yes. Just leave Miami Beach out of it.

Miami Beach has a special charm that doesn’t require a pit boss or poker.

We have a beautiful beach, turquoise waters and magical pink sunsets.

I know opening these casinos can be fabulous and fun (as well as immensely profitable).

But when Timberlake and his band decamp — and the “Cry Me a River” singer reportedly spent the night at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas, not Soffer’s Fontainebleau after his performance — the crowd that came to play one-armed bandits quickly deteriorates. .

Thanks but, no thanks!