On Thursday, owners of one of the longest-running gambling operations in Florida are selling Magic City Casino in Miami to the Poarch Band Creek of Indians, a Native American tribe based in Alabama, the Miami Herald reported.
The owners, the Havenick family, are selling for an undisclosed price and will ask the state to transfer its gambling permit, allowing the tribe to own and operate Magic City Casino and retain control of the casino’s greyhound permit, which was first issued in 1931 when racing was legalized in Florida.
Greyhound racing is now banned in Florida, but the permit remains in force and is the reason Magic City can legally operate slot machines. The transfer will have to be approved by the Florida Gaming Control Commission. The Commission met on Thursday morning and reviewed the application, but postponed any decision to allow for public input, reported the Commercial Observer.
According to the report, the application submitted, West Flagler Associates entered into an asset purchase agreement with Wind Creek Miami, LLC, a subsidiary of the Poarch tribe, to acquire 100% ownership interest and equity interest in the permit.
The agency’s staff is recommending approval of the transfer. However, more than 100 pages in the application posted on the Commission’s website have been redacted, leaving the public in the dark about key details of the agreement.
The application states, “Because it is acquiring the permit, Wind Creek will also acquire a parimutuel operating license, cardroom license, and the slot machine license for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.’’
John Sowinski, president of No Casinos, an anti-casino advocacy group, has urged the commission to allow time before they vote.
“The Gaming Control Commission was created with the promise of greater transparency and public view into the world of gambling policy making, regulation, and enforcement,’’ Sowinski said. “In that spirit, this agenda item should be fully disclosed and should be postponed until the public has time to see what’s going on and the gaming commission can make a decision with the benefit of public input.”
“Ninety-three percent of this application is shielded,” he added.
The Havenick family’s other gambling operations will remain in the family’s control. Those include a permit to operate summer jai alai and poker in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood and the Bonita Springs Poker Room near Fort Myers.
Wind Creek Miami, LLC is a subsidiary of the tribe’s principal gaming and hospitality entity, the PCI Gaming Authority. The PCI Gaming Authority owns ten gaming operations across the country and runs gambling operations in Atmore, Montgomery, and Wetumpka in Alabama, the Renaissance Aruba and Renaissance Curacao, and the Mobile Greyhound Track in Alabama.
Currently, West Flagler Associates is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against an agreement between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which would have given the tribe rights to operate online sports betting, on and off Seminole land, which would have given the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on sports betting in the state.
A federal judge in the District of Columbia invalidated the compact, putting a hold on all sports betting and gaming expansion in Florida indefinitely. Should the Seminoles win their appeal, they would be legally able to offer wagering, Sports Handle reported. Oral arguments are set for December 14.
This year, the Alabama legislature considered but did not pass any bills to expand gambling in the state. The Alabama Legislature and Alabama voters have historically rejected gambling at the ballot box.
