City of Doral Council votes unanimously to ban casino gambling

DORAL, FL – City of Doral is a family-friendly community and its Council wants to keep it that way, which is why its members unanimously decided to suspend casino gambling within the city unless local residents vote against the measure in a referendum.

With votes 4-0, now plans of Eric Trump to turn Doral Golf Resort into a gambling hub as it was said in March may be at risk.

By that time, the son of the former president expressed that the Trump organization would be interested in establishing a casino at the resort, which was bought in 2012 and was renovated by around $250 million.

The decision comes weeks after Florida House approved a 30-year gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida called compact. Among other things, the agreement allows the transfer of the slot machine licenses to locations outside the 15-mile radius of the Seminole’s casino Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, which favors Doral Golf Resort located 18 miles away from the Hollywood casino. 

But city officials have been against having casinos for a long time as they are concerned about how much this could negatively impact the community. For this reason, on May 12th, the City of Doral Council approved an emergency ordinance to ban casinos from the city.

Miami Beach Mayor, Dan Gelber, also shares this concerns. He even wrote a letter to the Department of the Interior asking that the federal government reject Gov. Ron DeSantis’s gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe.

Now the vote against casino gambling is just a confirmation of the City of Doral stand on casino licensing initiatives.

Photo: Unsplash.com