FL Regulators Block Casino Deal Between GP, Genting
Mar 18, 2014 13:07:49 GMT -5
Post by cait on Mar 18, 2014 13:07:49 GMT -5
uh oh - they just incurred the "wrath of frankie".......watch out!
Florida Regulators Block Casino Deal Between Gulfstream, Genting
Paulick Report
Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation has ruled that a pari-mutuel and slots license issued to the non-profit Gulfstream Park After Racing Program (GPTARP) may not be moved from Broward County to Miami-Dade County to facilitate a stand-alone casino.
In January, Gulfstream Park owner The Stronach Group, along with the Genting resorts casino company, Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, and Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, announced the formation of a partnership that hoped to bring slot machines to a waterfront casino near downtown Miami in Dade County. The proposed Resorts World Omni would be built on Miami bayfront land – formerly occupied by the Miami Herald – purchased by Genting for $236 million in 2011.
The Resorts World Omni had been dependent upon either a favorable ruling from Florida’s DBPR or legislation that would allow the pari-mutuel and slots permit acquired by GPTARP to be moved from Broward to Miami-Dade County. A letter from Leon M. Biegalski, director of the DBPR’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, said the GPTARP “notice of relocation” of the permit from Broward to Miami-Dade County is “not valid.”
In his letter to attorney Marc Dunbar, representing GPTARP, Biegalski said Section 550.3345(2)(d) of Florida Statutes allows for the non-profit’s permit relocation “in the same county provided that such relocation is approved under the zoning and land use regulations of the applicable county or municipality. … Since Florida law only authorizes relocation of the permit to another location in the same county, the relocation is unlawful.” (Click docs.google.com/file/d/0B-99QGOx6WgoWWZJU3hOQkZleGc/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1 to see the letter and a copy of GPTARP’s permit and subsequent orders.)
Gulfstream Park officials conducted two pari-mutuel races of 150 yards each on Dec. 18, 2013, to qualify for the permit in the name of the non-profit. The races were held near the start of the one-mile chute of Gulfstream Park’s dirt track. That portion of the property is in Miami-Dade County, with the remainder of Gulfstream Park situated in Broward County.
Other permit-holders, including Churchill Downs Inc.-owned Calder and John J. Brunetti’s Hialeah Park, objected to the “de-coupling” of permits that would allow slots and poker to operate at facilities where no horse or dog racing takes place. Legislation to de-couple pari-mutuel and slots permits is under consideration in Tallahassee as part of a far-reaching gaming bill.
Gulfstream Park and GPTARP officials maintained that holding pari-mutuel races in Dade County qualified the non-profit for a license to operate slot machines in that same county.
Florida Regulators Block Casino Deal Between Gulfstream, Genting
Paulick Report
Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation has ruled that a pari-mutuel and slots license issued to the non-profit Gulfstream Park After Racing Program (GPTARP) may not be moved from Broward County to Miami-Dade County to facilitate a stand-alone casino.
In January, Gulfstream Park owner The Stronach Group, along with the Genting resorts casino company, Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, and Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, announced the formation of a partnership that hoped to bring slot machines to a waterfront casino near downtown Miami in Dade County. The proposed Resorts World Omni would be built on Miami bayfront land – formerly occupied by the Miami Herald – purchased by Genting for $236 million in 2011.
The Resorts World Omni had been dependent upon either a favorable ruling from Florida’s DBPR or legislation that would allow the pari-mutuel and slots permit acquired by GPTARP to be moved from Broward to Miami-Dade County. A letter from Leon M. Biegalski, director of the DBPR’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, said the GPTARP “notice of relocation” of the permit from Broward to Miami-Dade County is “not valid.”
In his letter to attorney Marc Dunbar, representing GPTARP, Biegalski said Section 550.3345(2)(d) of Florida Statutes allows for the non-profit’s permit relocation “in the same county provided that such relocation is approved under the zoning and land use regulations of the applicable county or municipality. … Since Florida law only authorizes relocation of the permit to another location in the same county, the relocation is unlawful.” (Click docs.google.com/file/d/0B-99QGOx6WgoWWZJU3hOQkZleGc/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1 to see the letter and a copy of GPTARP’s permit and subsequent orders.)
Gulfstream Park officials conducted two pari-mutuel races of 150 yards each on Dec. 18, 2013, to qualify for the permit in the name of the non-profit. The races were held near the start of the one-mile chute of Gulfstream Park’s dirt track. That portion of the property is in Miami-Dade County, with the remainder of Gulfstream Park situated in Broward County.
Other permit-holders, including Churchill Downs Inc.-owned Calder and John J. Brunetti’s Hialeah Park, objected to the “de-coupling” of permits that would allow slots and poker to operate at facilities where no horse or dog racing takes place. Legislation to de-couple pari-mutuel and slots permits is under consideration in Tallahassee as part of a far-reaching gaming bill.
Gulfstream Park and GPTARP officials maintained that holding pari-mutuel races in Dade County qualified the non-profit for a license to operate slot machines in that same county.