A Florida city has banned casinos in an apparent attempt to stop Trump building one there
- The city of Doral in South Florida banned casinos, striking a blow to Trump's reported plans to establish one there.
- It comes after Gov. DeSantis struck a deal laying the foundations for Trump to build a casino at Trump National Doral Miami.
- Doral city council voted, 4-0, to ban gambling and casinos unless approved by residents in a referendum.
The South Florida city of Doral has voted to ban gambling in an apparent attempt to prevent former President Donald Trump and others from pursuing plans to build a casino there.
Doral city council on Wednesday voted, 4-0, to ban gambling and casinos unless they were approved by the city's residents in a referendum, the Miami Herald reported.
It comes after Gov. DeSantis - a close ally of Trump - struck a deal last month that had laid the foundations for the former president to build a casino at Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort owned by Trump and run by his son Eric.
Doral city council first passed the legislation banning casinos as emergency legislation in May, and this week passed the same law on a nonemergency basis, the Herald reported, as city officials try to prevent the future construction of casinos in city limits.
"We wanted to make sure we weighed in ... We will do whatever it takes," Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez told the Herald before Wednesday's vote.
Trump has been exploring the option of building a casino at the resort, which is struggling financially, and Eric Trump suggested in March that he was open to the idea.
"Many people consider Trump Doral to be unmatched from a gaming perspective - at 700 acres, properties just don't exist of that size and quality in South Florida, let alone in the heart of Miami," he said in an email to The Washington Post.
DeSantis' gambling deal, which was approved by the Florida Senate in May, included a provision barring the Seminole Tribe of Florida from opposing any state decision to issue a gambling license to a venue more than 15 miles away from the tribe's Hard Rock Casino, The Post reported.
Trump's Doral resort is slightly more than 15 miles away, The Post said, meaning the Seminole Tribe would not be able to oppose any plan to install a casino there.