A city in South Florida banned casinos just as former President Donald Trump was likely getting ready to build one in it.
According to a report from Business Insider, the Doral city council voted 4-0 to ban gambling within its city limits. The city is home to Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort owned by the former president and run by his son, Eric.
Last March, the younger Trump told the Washington Post that he hoped to turn the property into a casino to boost revenues for the struggling golf facility. When Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed to a new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe the following month, it opened the doors for Trump to turn that desire into a reality.
As part of the new compact, which will legalize sports betting and expand gaming options at Seminole casinos if passed at the federal level, the Seminole Tribe gave up its rights to oppose the state from issuing a gambling license to any property that is more than 15 miles away from a Seminole-owned casino.
The Trump National Doral Miami just barely reaches that threshold and the tribe would not have a legal route to stop the process.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald that the 15-mile mark was strategically put in place by DeSantis to help the Trump family establish a casino presence in the state.
“Obviously the fact that the 15-mile barrier was included in the compact is a pretty good expression of the intent of the governor and Legislature to give him what he wants,” said Gelber.
Donald Trump owned casinos in Atlantic City, Indiana and California under the Trump Entertainment Resorts company, which filed for bankruptcy three times before it eventually was bought by billionaire Carl Icahn in 2016.
Earlier this year, Icahn destroyed one of Trump’s former Atlantic City casinos, as the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino imploded last February in a controlled demolition. He sold the Trump Taj Mahal to Hard Rock International in 2016, which later became Hard Rock Atlantic City.
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