KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — Genting Bhd’s public lobbying for new gaming laws in Florida, so that it can build the world’s largest casino, may boomerang and sink its expansion in the southeastern US state.
The Wall Street Journal reported that political and business leaders in Florida feel Genting’s high-profile campaign to push through proposed legislation allowing Las Vegas-style casinos in the Sunshine State risks galvanising the opposition instead.
Opponents to the Bill — which would see licences issued for three new casinos in South Florida’s Miami-Dade and Broward counties — include social conservatives and business interests like the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Walt Disney Co.
Genting hopes the new law will allow it to gain a licence to open a US$3.8 billion (RM12.11 billion) casino resort with six towers, a shopping mall and 50 restaurants on prime land along the Miami waterfront, overlooking Biscayne Bay.
Florida state law currently largely limits casino gambling to resorts operated by Native American tribes and slot machines at horse- and dog-racing tracks.
“It certainly does appear that Genting has taken a full-frontal-assault approach to lobbying the issue,” the WSJ quoted Florida House Republican Speaker Dean Cannon as saying.
“Whether that strategy inures to their advantage or disadvantage remains to be seen.”
To this end, Genting has hired a slew of high-priced lobbyists and public-relations consultants.
According to the WSJ, state lobbying disclosure forms list 23 lobbyists working for four different Genting entities, compared to eight and four respectively for US rivals Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts.
Among the heavyweights Genting has enlisted are former congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Harkley Thornton, a close friend of Cannon.
According to state records, the company also has contributed US$186,000 to the Florida Republican Party, which controls the legislature and the governor’s office.
“[Genting’s] strategy appears to be just layering dollars on top of dollars,” Florida Chamber president Mark Wilson told the WSJ.
He added that the company offered his organisation a five-figure contribution, which it declined.
“I think the bet they made was that Florida was for sale. That’s a big gamble,” Wilson said.
Genting surprised competitors in May when it said it had paid US$236 million in cash for the Miami Herald’s waterfront headquarters and planned to build a casino there, once it secured approval.
Under the deal, the newspaper will be able to stay in the building rent-free for two years.
Four months later, Genting gained control of the US$206 million mortgage on the adjacent Omni Center, doubling its footprint.
Several casino-industry insiders said they believe this could be the first time in the US that a company has bought land for a casino not yet authorized by law, rather than leasing or taking an option on it.
Genting, whose holdings include a US$4.7 billion casino in Singapore, has seized the chance to expand in the US as more states consider opening up to gaming to shrink their budget deficits and unemployment rolls.
The company is flush with cash from its Asian operations, while many US rivals have been hobbled by heavy debt.
Its cash-rich status gives it an edge over many overburdened US casino operators, who embarked on building sprees or leveraged buyouts just as the casino market in the US began to sour.
Last month, Genting opened a new slot-machine casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in the New York borough of Queens.
In Massachusetts, where the governor signed a Bill last week authorising the state’s first casinos, Genting affiliate Kien Huat Realty formed a partnership with a Native American tribe likely to receive one of the new gambling permits.
