Poarch Tribe Completes Purchase of Miami’s Magic City Casino

PCI, owned by the Alabama-based Poarch Band of Creek Indians, purchased the property from the Havenick family, which has owned the site since the 1950s.

The 305,624-square-foot casino is southeast of Miami International Airport at 450 NW 37th Avenue, across the street from where Terra is redeveloping a strip mall and parking lot into a mixed-use development.   

The casino property, which includes a now-shuttered dog track, sits on 30 acres. Wind Creek Hospitality, a subsidiary of PCI, plans to redevelop the site into a luxury resort adjacent to the casino, Wind Creek President and CEO Jay Dorris told the Miami Herald in February. 

The redevelopment would likely feature a shopping mall and “experience-oriented attractions,’’ Dorris said, without providing additional details. Representatives for Wind Creek declined to comment, while a spokesperson for PCI did not immediately respond to Commercial Observer’s requests for comment. 

PCI owns two casinos in Alabama and gambling resorts in Aruba and Curacao, as well as a greyhound permit and a card room in Pensacola and a barrel-racing operation and poker room in Gretna, Fla. In 2019, the company bought the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa., for $1.3 billion.

In February, the newly formed Florida Gaming Control Commission approved the sale of the Miami gambling permit to PCI, ordering the deal to close within the next 30 days. 

Attorney John Lockwood, who represents both the Havenicks and PCI Gaming, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.