Two Miami business leaders went to court this week in Washington, D.C., in an effort to stop the expansion of gambling in Florida — and to stand up for voters, since the Legislature and governor are doing just the opposite.
Developer Armando Codina and auto retailer Norman Braman, two of the state’s fiercest and most well-heeled gambling opponents, filed suit — along with the group No Casinos — against U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. The suit accuses the federal government of allowing the state to circumvent the Florida Constitution when it approved a new gaming deal this year — including off-reservation sports betting — with the Seminole Tribe. The suit also contends that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature violated federal laws by authorizing gambling outside of Indian lands, among other claims.
We believe there’s little doubt that lawmakers and gambling interests crafted the deal precisely to get around the 2018 constitutional amendment that voters approved — by an unheard-of 72% — that specified the electorate must determine if there are more casinos in Florida. For years now, the Republican-led Legislature has shown such contempt for the will of the voters, especially when it comes to constitutional amendments, that lawmakers can no longer enjoy the benefit of the doubt on that point. (That doesn’t make it more acceptable, of course.)
But Republicans play the long game — just look at the courts — and this is no exception. Not only are they betting they’ll win the current contest, they’re clearly leaving the door open for more casinos here: specifically, in Doral and Miami Beach.
Unless the courts stop this deal, more casino gambling will be allowed at existing facilities. The Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock casinos in Broward and Hillsborough counties would be able to morph into full Las Vegas-style casinos with the addition of roulette and craps. No Casinos calls this the biggest gambling expansion in Florida history.
Yet, that’s not all. Even more alarming is the part of the deal where the Seminole Tribe says it won’t object to any new casino license as long as it’s at least 18 miles from its Hard Rock Casino near Hollywood.
Guess what? Both the Fontainebleau hotel and resort in Miami Beach and Trump’s National Doral Miami golf resort — both have indicated they would like to see a new law that would let them transfer a gambling license from an existing parimutuel to their properties — fall conveniently outside that magic 18-mile boundary line.
As Codina told the Herald, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how this movie is ending.”
Agreed.
Back when DeSantis signed the agreement to add so much betting in Florida — and the Legislature basically rubber-stamped it — Codina and Braman vowed to file this challenge. The 72% of voters who tried to clamp down on gambling expansion should thank them. The owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida have also sued.
But even if the courts rule against the state — and we certainly hope that’s what happens — it is clear that, for this crop of politicians anyway, the voters don’t matter. And there’s only one cure for that.
Are you registered to vote? Now’s the time.
