From left: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and the Miami Beach Convention CenterMiami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower is urging city commissioners to vote against the expansion of gambling in Miami Beach, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

Bower has authored a resolution for Wednesday’s city commission meeting that opposes casinos, claiming they harm non-gambling businesses, are socially and economically costly, promote corruption, encourage traffic and generally worsen quality of life.

But according to the Journal, one of the motives of the vote is to return the focus to the Miami Beach Convention Center. 1 Comment

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Downtown Miami isn’t the only possible destination for a Las Vegas Sands casino. According to the South Florida Business Journal, Sands is seriously considering Broward County depending on tax rates and local opposition to such a development.

Sands, which had previously mentioned Palm Beach as a possible destination, is eying potential sites with about 40 acres of land near major roads and airports. The exact details of the project would depend on several factors, but it would likely include about 500,000-square feet of convention space. [more]

Landmark eatery John G’s will not be returning to the Lake Worth casino when renovations are completed next year. “Their offer was not as enticing to us as it could have been,” co-owner Wendy Yarbrough said.
According to the Palm Beach Post, the restaurant, which has occupied the space for almost four decades, will open at a new location in July at the Plaza Del Mar shopping center across from the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach hotel in Manalapan, where it has signed a two-and-a-half-year lease. [more]

The state legislature is pondering a new gaming agreement with the Seminole Tribe, which, if it passes, could result in major construction of new casinos. While Florida has a long history of gambling, it’s often had illicit roots and been a battleground for politicians and activists, particularly a 1975 bid to create a Las Vegas-style strip of casinos in Miami-Dade County. The new agreement with the Seminoles would give the tribe the right to operate table games as well as slot machines, a shift that would call for some significant building projects. [Miami Herald]

Gulfstream Park President Bill Murphy abruptly resigned Saturday, according to a company press release that offered no further details. He left his position immediately, Gulfstream’s parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., said. Murphy joined the Hallandale Beach horse track and casino in June 2006 and was promoted to president and general manager in January 2007. Gulfstream is slated to open Gulfstream Village, a shopping center, in February 2010. The $1.2 billion mall will have restaurants, nightclubs and stores, including a Crate and Barrel and a Pottery Barn. [Sun Sentinel]