Conflicting views of Miami's casino potential

Casino magnates & analysts offer conflicting views of Miami's casino potential
Casino magnates Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn disagree on at least one thing: Miami’s potential to emerge as a Las Vegas East.

The two CEOs famous for outlandish Vegas hotels and oversized personalities both have their eyes on opening massive new resorts in the Miami area should Florida loosen gambling laws. But in recent remarks to investment analysts, Adelson and Wynn take opposite positions on how much new gambling tourism Miami can support.

Adelson, the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands casino company, sees Miami capable of supporting a single casino resort. But Wynn, who named his signature 4,750-room Vegas property after himself, describes Miami as a place where competing casinos can thrive.

Meanwhile, analysts at Bernstein, a leading watcher of gambling stocks, this week questioned whether South Florida could sustain three mega resorts. The company warned that Las Vegas could lose as much as 15 percent of its business to South Florida if the Sunshine State allows three new casino resorts to open in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale area. It also said it was unlikely they would produce the kind of revenue needed -- $7 billion a year -- to compete with the Seminole Tribe and existing casinos.