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Successful Meetings previously reported, gaming could soon be coming to Miami. And if it does, the ideal place for it to be located is adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center, according to Las Vegas casino-hotel mogul Steve Wynn, who weighed in on South Florida's gambling debate last week when he called the convention center the "best" site for a destination resort.
"I think that Miami Beach is the greatest site for a destination resort in the United States," Wynn said, according to The Miami Herald, referring to roughly 50 acres of city-owned land that currently includes the convention center, parking garages and city hall. "It has a huge footprint. Adjacent to a convention center that can be expanded and improved. It's a site that is close to the ocean."
Because he spent his adolescence living in Miami Beach and working as a DJ in nearby Hollywood, Fla., Wynn is considered a credible contributor to Florida's casino conversation.
"He's not a carpet-bagger," retired hotelier Stuart Blumberg, leader of an advisory panel for the Miami Beach Convention Center, told The Miami Herald. "I think Miami Beach is sitting in the catbird's seat now."
Wynn is one of three parties who have publicly expressed a desire to build a casino in Miami Beach if a state law to allow two casino resorts in Miami-Dade County passes. Malaysia's Genting and Las Vegas Sands also are interested. A spokesperson for MGM Resorts International said that company also is "looking."