After Ken Griffin, Local Officials Balk, Bill To Bring Casino To Miami Beach Pulled

South Florida business leaders and local officials successfully beat back legislation at the Florida Legislature that could have brought casino gaming to Miami Beach.

The Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee was set to consider a bill Monday that would have allowed a gaming license to be transferred to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. But the agenda item was yanked mere hours after being posted online Wednesday after Miami Beach lawmakers voted to accept the use of a private plane to fly more than 100 officials and residents to the hearing in Tallahassee to voice their opposition, the Miami Herald reported. 

Pushback for the bill came from all corners of Miami’s business elite. The plane that was set to fly officials to the state capital is owned by billionaire car dealer Norman Braman, with the flight planned to be partially funded by developer Armando Codina. 

Ken Griffin, one of the world's richest men who relocated his hedge fund Citadel to Miami in 2022, had come out against the bill a day earlier, penning a letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald. 

“Allowing casinos to harm thriving communities and undermine Florida families is like willingly dumping toxic waste into the Everglades,” Griffin wrote. “Casinos are a bad bet for South Florida. We need to defeat this reckless legislation, defend our personal rights as voters and protect Florida’s future.”

A spokesperson for Citadel and Griffin didn't respond to Bisnow’s request for comment about the legislation being pulled from consideration. 

The proposed legislation, SB 1054 in the Senate and HB 1127 in the House, would have overridden any local gambling restrictions and allowed gaming permit holders to move their license to a new location within 30 miles. 

Officials in Miami Beach, where casino gambling has been banned since 2017, were alarmed by the bill, which they saw as clearing the way for gaming to come to the Fontainebleau resort at 4441 Collins Ave. 

Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development owns the Miami Beach hotel as well as The Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach, located about 20 miles away, which he acquired in 2018.

On the Las Vegas Strip, after 16 years of construction, Soffer opened The Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Dec. 13, designed with distinctly South Florida vibes. But its first weeks have drawn sparser than expected crowds, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The company named a new president of Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Jan. 28.

A representative for Fontainebleau Development didn’t respond to Bisnow’s request for comment. 

Soffer had been advocating for the legislation and was reported by the Miami Herald in 2021 to have an "obsession" with bringing a casino to Miami Beach.

Entities tied to Soffer have donated more than $300K to PACs supporting state legislators, including nine Republicans who represent Miami-Dade County, the Herald reported. 

He also donated $1M to a super PAC that had supported Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential campaign, and the governor frequently travels on Soffer’s private jet. 

The legislation pitted Soffer against Griffin — another key player in Florida politics who donated $5M to DeSantis’ reelection campaign in 2021 — Miami Beach officials and business leaders whose threat to fly opponents of the bill to Tallahassee looks to have pushed the Legislature to back down. 

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner interrupted regular business during a City Commission meeting Wednesday night to break the news that the legislation had been pulled from the committee agenda, drawing cheers from residents in attendance, the Herald reported.

“Gaming casinos pose a threat to Miami Beach’s quality of life, bringing issues such as increased crime and traffic,” Meiner told Bisnow in a statement. “I am relieved that the legislature reconsidered the bill, prioritizing the welfare of our residents and preserving the harmony of our city.”

After the bill was pulled from the committee agenda, a Senate spokesperson, Katie Betta, told the Herald that it “did not have a way forward.” 

While the course reversal from the committee ends the bill’s prospects this session, the push to bring gaming to the Fontainebleau may not be over. Joe Gruters, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, told the Herald there was “no need” to have a vote on the bill in the coming weeks but, he added, “maybe next year.”