By SHIRA MOOLTEN South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
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Some people have a vision of Florida’s future: a gambling destination second only to Las Vegas, perhaps even rivaling it, where tourists play craps and roulette at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, sip cocktails on the beach, and place bets on a Dolphins or Heat game with the swipe of a finger.

Maybe their kids are at Disney World, or at the pool; maybe they’re at home in New York or Massachusetts, somewhere cold.

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“If you look at Vegas, their hotels are always packed, their casinos are always packed,” said Mychal Milian, a lodging instructor at Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality &Tourism Management. “Now imagine Vegas with a beach.”

Milian also serves as the complex director of operations for the Dania Pointe Marriott Hotels at the Fort Lauderdale Airport, a 10-minute drive from the Hard Rock in Hollywood.

In less than a month, in-person sports betting, craps and roulette will, presumably, begin at all South Florida casinos and elsewhere in the state, though that anticipated launch may hinge on a favorable ruling from the Florida Supreme Court.

The launch is expected to drive tourists and businesses to South Florida and elsewhere in the state, create jobs, and bring in billions of dollars in revenue.

Yet despite the ritzy hotels, sports teams, warm weather and beaches that South Florida has to offer, experts say that legal hurdles and cultural attitudes, some nearly insurmountable, will keep it from becoming Vegas.

One of them is the very agreement that legalizes sports betting and gives the Seminole Tribe a monopoly on the industry for 30 years, at the expense of competition.

“Florida is such a large state, even with one dominant operator, it’s too big of a state to be insignificant. Even in a monopoly situation,” said Daniel Wallach, a national sports gambling law expert and attorney based in Hallandale Beach. “But it’s only scratching the surface of its potential.”

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‘PEOPLE NEED TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT’

Two weeks ago, the Seminole Tribe announced the return of in-person sports betting. Last week, the mobile app returned for existing customers, while those who became loyalty members could join an “early-access” waitlist. Already, some of those early-access customers have reported on social media they have placed bets.

But the extent to which in-person sports betting might drive tourists to the area in the short term remains unclear.

Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, Broward’s tourism promotion arm, declined to speculate, telling the Sun Sentinel that “it’s so new that we are just starting to collect the data and analytics we would need to make a determination.”

In Hollywood, spokespeople said they weren’t aware of tourism plans in relation to the launch.

The uncertainty is compounded by the ongoing legal battles. The Florida Supreme Court is currently considering another motion, filed by the tribe’s opponents, a group of pari-mutuels known collectively as West Flagler Associates, that seeks to suspend sports betting. It isn’t immediately clear whether that motion refers to in-person or just mobile.

Raquel Rodriguez, one of the lawyers representing West Flagler, declined to comment Friday in response to questions about the meaning of the motion.

Any boost to the tourism and hospitality industry may be dampened by uncertainty over the legal situation, experts say.

Peter Ricci, a Florida Atlantic University professor who specializes in hospitality and tourism industry trends, thinks that South Florida will see an uptick heading into the Super Bowl, but most of what he hears from local businesses and hospitality employees is uncertainty rather than excitement.

“What I’ve heard is questions about ‘when is it starting?’” he said. ” … ‘Are they hiring for blackjack dealers? What does this mean? Will they expand the hotel?’ All these questions but nothing specifically pro or con about actual sports betting itself.”

Milian agreed.

“I know it’s come up a few times in Miami and been shot down before,” he said. “Now that it’s finally happening, people need to see it to believe it.”