Florida lawmakers are still in the middle of their discussions over the upcoming implementation of the state’s new pieces of gambling legislation, but the representatives of the Miami-Dade county have already protested against the future casino expansion. It seems that the representatives have been greatly concerned about the upcoming expansion, as they utterly opposed the addition of new casinos in the region.
Local lawmakers have been debating on the expected gaming expansion for a few days, after Florida’s Supreme Court gave the green light to a proposed constructional change that would give local voters the chance to determine the future of gaming industry.
The main sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, Senator Bill Galvano described the proposal as a proof that the local industry and authorities are ready for the planned expansion.
A few days ago, there was a debate at which the Florida Senate made an official proposal for the construction of two casinos that would be located in the south part of the state. At first, only one gaming venue construction in Miami was given the green light by the House of Representatives.
The Mayor of the Miami-Dade County Carlos Gimenez has called the Government of the state to go further with the discussions as soon as the local residents make a decision if they would like to have a new casino, or not. The new casino venue must be located no less than 5 miles away from any pari-mutuel facility that already exists in in the county. It would be allowed to run a card room as well as a total of 1,500 slots machines, and would have to hold a pari-mutuel permit.
The truth is that the original project for the local casino expansion included the construction in a total of two counties, Broward and Miami-Dade. However, the Florida House said yes to only one of the casinos, despite the fact that the new gambling bill is still far from being approved. Now, it was the new project of the Senate which provoked he Miami officials to protest the proposal.
As Casino Guardian has previously reported, local legislature seeks to renew the agreement with the Seminole Tribe, which has protested both the Senate and the House version of the gambling bill.
At present times, it is exactly the Seminoles who own the exclusive rights of gaming operations within the state of Florida. Although the House and the Senate bills’ provisions are quite different from each other, both pieces of legislation would allow the Seminole Tribe to offer the games of roulette and craps in their casinos across the state. As we have reported earlier, the House bill would also allow the tribe to keep its gaming industry monopoly, but the tribe would have to pay the state $3 billion over a period of seven years.
- Author
Daniel Williams
