Surveillance video shows man stabbing police officer at Magic City Casino
In September , the company that owns Miami's Magic City Casino β West Flagler Associates β tried to apply for a license to open up a new poker room in downtown Miami, through an arcane licensing process involving "summer jai-alai" permits. Casino patrons, the study noted, typically stay inside the building for hours and don't get out to wander and frequent shops nearby. Support Us. Both the Buena Vista and Little Haiti neighborhoods are already battling extremely one-sided gentrification fights β neighborhood associations like Faynm Aysisen na Miyami, a Haitian-American group, are likely to strongly oppose any plans for a casino in that stretch of town. There are also questions as to whether a new casino could destroy the Design District's reputation as an upscale shopping mecca for the wealthy. Multiple studies show that casinos aren't actually good for their nearby economies: The National Association of Realtors warned in a study that casinos have an "unambiguously negative" impact on their surrounding communities , and don't encourage new businesses to build nearby. Shrinking low- and middle-class neighborhoods border West Flagler's proposed site to the west and north. Support Our Journalism. Casino patrons also tend to be 50 and over, a demographic currently at odds with downtown Miami's new image as the capital of millennial South Florida. The firm moved from Biscayne last year. The application comes just as the Florida House of Representatives and the Senate are moving closer on a comprehensive gambling bill, which could pave the way for a new casino license elsewhere in Miami-Dade County. While the Florida Senate has long been receptive to the idea of building more casinos in Miami, the House has been reluctant to agree β until this week, when House lawmakers surprisingly proposed letting a developer build a new, 1,slot-machine casino somewhere across Dade, as long as the property is more than five miles from any other casino, and is chosen via a competitive bidding process. The property, which is owned by a company called Crescent Heights, formerly contained the Legal Services of Greater Miami, a pro-bono law firm that helps low-income people file fair-housing complaints, among many other services. According to an application first published by the anonymously written development website the Next Miami, West Flagler filed a new application with the state board on April The new location for the card room, the application states, is Biscayne Blvd. Already registered? Join the New Times community and help support independent local journalism in Miami. Edgewater and the Design District have gentrified to the point that most of the new residents moving in are high-income condo owners looking to live near the Design District's luxury fashion shops and Wynwood's nightlife scene. Facebook Twitter. Now, according to recently published documents, West Flagler says it wants to open up a new casino at Biscayne Blvd. Correction: This article previously misidentified the location of the Legal Services of Greater Miami. Make a financial contribution or sign up for a newsletter, and help us keep telling Miami's stories with no paywalls. The Herald 's editorial board called that proposal "a reckless gamble" on Wednesday, pun presumably intended. He graduated with honors from Temple University. He then earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.{/INSERTKEYS}{/PARAGRAPH} Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Jerry Iannelli April 28, am. Miami's independent source of local news and culture. Likewise, neighborhood associations across midtown Miami are likely to strongly oppose West Flagler's separate plan in Edgewater, provided it moves forward. {PARAGRAPH}{INSERTKEYS}Don't have an account yet? Remember Me. Get the most out of your experience with a personalized all-access pass to everything local on events, music, restaurants, news and more. Jerry Iannelli 4.