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Here’s how much Jeffrey Soffer paid for the Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach
Developer financed the deal with a $19.5M loan
Jeffrey Soffer paid $12.5 million for the Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track in Hallandale Beach, property records show.
Soffer’s 831 Federal Highway Acquisition LLC bought the nearly 28-acre property from Hartman & Tyner and financed the deal with a $19.5 million mortgage from Florida Community Bank.
Soffer, co-CEO of Turnberry Associates, said earlier this year that there was no chance that he would transfer the Mardi Gras property’s casino license to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, despite Turnberry’s longstanding interest in bringing a casino to the resort. In addition to the Fontainebleau, Turnberry owns Aventura Mall and the Turnberry Isle Miami hotel resort. The firm is also developing Turnberry Ocean Club in Sunny Isles Beach and SoLē Mia, a $4 billion mixed-use community planned for North Miami.
Florida law prohibits the transfer of casino licenses from one property to another. In 2014, the state blocked an attempt by Gulfstream Park, a horse track in Hallandale, to transfer its pari-mutuel permit to the Omni hotel complex just north of downtown Miami, owned by Malaysian casino operator Genting Group.
In January, Soffer told the Miami Herald he would personally invest in the Mardi Gras property, independent of his family firm, Turnberry. Damage from Hurricane Irma shut down the casino and race track for several months.
Soffer could not immediately be reached for comment.