The King of Palm Beach

Florida‘s seven struggling, casino-enabled parimutuels could become eight, with the entry of a new player …

While the courts have now made it possible for Don King to make an end-run around Palm Beach County voters, if necessary, by taking his case to the Lege, lawmakers are in pursuit of much bigger, more lucrative quarry right now — and King is construing very broadly a ruling that pertained to Hialeah Racetrack. But if King is looking to Donald Trump to finance his casino dream, he’s drawing to an empty holster. Besides, Trump Entertainment Resorts is paying The Donald for the use of his name and combover, and might not look kindly to seeing them slapped on a racino at ratty-looking Mangonia Park.

Remember how Sheldon Adelson was all for having multiple Vegas-style casinos — provided as they were all his? As you know, Sheldon has become a born-again evangelist for the need to limit gambling’s growth in Florida … limit it to one Las Vegas Sands-owned casino, that is. His window opportunity is closing rapidly, now that Steve Wynn is looking at real estate in Miami. Heck, even the Seminole Tribe wants to get in on the megaresort action, dangling the carrot of continued revenue sharing before lawmakers. The Seminoles about-face potentially solves the bird-in-the-hand/two-in-the-bush debate that stymied casino expansion during the last Legislature.

Also potentially standing to gain is Caesars Entertainment, while those with something to lose include current racino operator Isle of Capri Casinos. A highlight of the recent Global Gaming Expo was a panel discussing that included Caesars’ Jan Jones (left) and Isle CEO Virginia McDowell. Yr. Humble Blogger sorely wanted to set the cat amongst the pigeons by asking their opinions of the bill currently before the Lege. (I’m skeptical about Gary Loveman having the $2.5 billion buy-in, but let’s play along.) Alas, there was no time for Q&A, averting a potentially awkward G2E moment. If there’s any consolation for McDowell in recent developments, it’s that a further reduction of the parimutuel tax rate (to 10% from an already discounted 35%) looks like the make-or-break provision that will make expansion possible. Gov. Rick Scott‘s going to have get off the fence and get with the program, because an enormous amount of casino investment (read: jobs) is gaining momentum, headed Florida’s way, and no sane politician wants to look like an economic spoilsport.

Yes, times are rough back here in Las Vegas. However, Business Insider isn’t telling us anything we didn’t already know a long time ago.