A Magic City Casino escalator requires patrons towards the second floor exactly where the sounds of pulled levers and coins hitting dishes fill the air. About $1.19 billion was bet in slot machines right here last year with $1.11 billion going back for the players, based on state records.

Three years right after it installed 796 slot machines, Magic City Casino owners are attempting to get slot machines approved for their Bonita Springs dog track. Lee County voters will vote Nov. six on permitting slots in Bonita.

“Everything you see right here, we’d prefer to translate to the west coast to Bonita Springs,” Magic City owner Izzy Havenick said.

The majority of Magic City Casino customers are retired persons, guest services manager Karina Meza mentioned. Younger folks come at evening to play poker. Luis Francisco Carrera, 63, stated he comes for the casino daily and credits it for assisting his high blood pressure.

“It’s saved my life,” Carrera mentioned for the duration of a break in gambling. “It gave me anything to accomplish.”

When asked if slots would be a good notion for Bonita Springs, Miriam Guillen, 70, laughed.

“I lost $7,900 this month right here,” Guillen stated. “Opening a casino there would be giving cash towards the owners. Not towards the people today.”

In September, Magic City’s slots took in over $95.7 million, paying out $89.7 million, or about 93.five percent. Net slot income for the month was $1.2 million, in accordance with figures that Magic City reported to the state Department of Company and Experienced Regulation.

Magic City also receives millions in added income annually from a poker room; a pari-mutuel wagering room, where shoppers bet on and watch off-site races; and the dog track, the original part of the complicated that’s now utilised for races in summer time and concerts in winter.

The Havenicks have owned the Magic City Casino, formerly recognized because the Flagler Dog Track, since 1954. The loved ones opened the Bonita dog track in 1957.

The Havenicks had been overjoyed when state voters voted in 2004 to allow slot referendums in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Broward approved them in 2005. Miami-Dade rejected them in 2005 and authorized them in 2008.

Soon after a $100 million casino renovation, the casino opened on Oct. 15, 2009. The casino has noticed its net slot income increase each year, from $44 million in 2009-10 to $80 million in 2011-12.

“This could be the initially time we’re breaking even in Miami,” Havenick stated. “We would be the highest taxed and highest regulated organization in Florida. In the event you count our voluntary income to Miami and Dade County, we’re taxed at 44 percent. The state taxes us at 35 percent and then you add licensing charges.”

Havenick bills the Magic City Casino as an “entertainment center,” and he’d like to do precisely the same issue in Bonita if slots are authorized there.

Situated in a massive space away in the slots, the casino has an area referred to as “Stage 305.” The room is often employed for weddings, band performances, contests and other events. The 1980s female group, the Bangles is set to play there later this month.

Nearby enterprises like Don Camaron Seafood Grill say the casino has been great for business enterprise. At Don Camaron, which is located across the street from the casino, enterprise has increased 5-10 percent general manager Jonathan Guerrero said.

Guerrero stated he has observed crime decrease in the neighborhood.

“Most persons that visit the casino are old folks,” Guerrero mentioned. “It’s diverse than Las Vegas exactly where there are actually a lot more young men and women. You see crime there. But right here it is men and women coming with their retirement checks. They open the doors with the casino at ten a.m. and you see a line of old ladies.”

Guerrero said his restaurant was robbed three times just before the slots went in.

“No more robberies,” Guerrero stated. “They have security and two to 3 police automobiles.”