The $3.8 billion casino and resort by Genting Group is proving a divisive issue for Miami residents.
Back in September, international developer Genting Group unveiled the extraordinary, $3.8 billion Resorts World Miami, a property that the company plans to build on land currently occupied by the Miami Herald. The resort would include more than 1,000 luxury condos, four luxury hotels with 5,200 combined rooms and 50 restaurants and bars.
Despite being the largest North American development since 2004’s CityCenter project in Las Vegas, the project is getting some push back from Miami lawmakers, namely because of the resort’s connection to gambling.
According to an article by The Miami Herald, Genting’s resort would be the largest casino in the world at 550,000 square feet, with gambling space and hotel accommodations beyond anything offered in Las Vegas — and that’s a contentious issue in Miami.
“Critics see the urban resort scrambling downtown Miami’s ongoing revival and stealing customers from hotels and restaurants from nearby neighborhoods and Miami Beach,” writes the Herald’s Douglas Hanks. “Supporters point to tens of thousands of construction jobs needed to build something so large, and the tens of millions in tourist dollars it would generate once open.
As Oscar Pedro Musibay of the South Florida Business Journal reports, though, legislation from state government seem to be pointing to a resolution in Genting’s favor. A bill from Rep. Erik Fresen and Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, for instance, would essentially charge developers to secure a better spot on the casino license approval process. To receive consideration, the legislation states that a developer must have at least $2 billion committed to the casino property and pay a $50 million fine.
In addition, the bill would create a seven-member “State Gaming Commission” charged with heading a new Department of Gaming Control. The full-time members would receive $125,000 a year (with the chairman netting $135,000), and all would be required to have “experience in corporate finance, tourism, convention and resort management, gaming, investigation or law enforcement, business law, or related legal experience,” writes Musibay.
Click here for additional photos of the massive casino/resort.