Billionaire developer Jeffrey Soffer is pushing forward with plans to transform the aging Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach into a sprawling new gambling and entertainment destination spanning more than 163,000 square feet. The proposal would bring dining, bars, live entertainment and a massive parking garage to a property that has not seen a major renovation in 20 years.
According to casino.org, the redevelopment plan calls for 34,344 square feet of dining space and 11,205 square feet dedicated to bars, along with a live entertainment venue. The project is being designed by Las Vegas-based architecture firm Steelman Partners, the outlet reports. As The Real Deal reports, Soffer is seeking to replace the Big Easy Casino and the site of a former greyhound track with a new gambling establishment at 831 North Federal Highway.
The current Big Easy Casino, which features 700 slot machines, electronic table games and poker tournaments per casino.org, is a far cry from what Soffer envisions. The redevelopment would include an 818-space parking garage as part of a total of 1,707 parking spaces, the outlet notes — a significant upgrade for a facility whose last major renovation came two decades ago.
A Casino With Deep Roots on Federal Highway
The Big Easy Casino complex traces its history back to 1934, according to The Real Deal, with the current casino building constructed in 1963. Soffer, who leads Aventura-based Fontainebleau Development, paid $12.5 million for the property in 2018, when it was still known as Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track. He later stopped greyhound racing at the site and rebranded it as the Big Easy Casino, per the same reporting.
The existing building spans 262,900 square feet on a site that totals 23.8 acres. Soffer sold off 12.3 acres of that land to multifamily developers last year while keeping the remainder of the property for his own plans, The Real Deal reports. Figures on that sale vary slightly across outlets: casino.org described the transaction as 12.3 acres sold for $31.16 million, while The Real Deal separately reported that 12.3 acres were sold. Per therealdeal.com's account of that deal, the buyer was Kadima Developers, led by co-founders Alejandro Chaberman and Joseph Melul, who partially financed the acquisition with a $17.6 million loan from RMWC before immediately flipping three of those acres for $12 million to an affiliate of Persea Ventures. Kadima has said it intends to turn its portion into a master-planned community with apartments, condos, retail, entertainment and warehouses, according to the same report.
What the New Casino Would Include
Soffer's vision for the remaining parcel is considerably more ambitious than a simple facelift. The redevelopment, according to The Real Deal, is planned to include slot machines, a bar, a music venue, a smoking lounge, a card room, a steakhouse and a sports restaurant. The outlet also reports that restaurants would occupy 34,300 square feet while administrative offices would take up 9,800 square feet, alongside a four-story parking garage as part of the roughly 1,700 total parking spaces.
The Hallandale Beach City Commission is set to consider a waiver application tied to the project on October 13, The Real Deal reports. Developer representatives have requested a waiver allowing a larger-than-permitted plat on the site, and documents tied to the application were submitted to the city by Graham Penn, according to the outlet's reporting. If the waiver is approved, Soffer would then be able to seek plat approval and submit a site plan application, The Real Deal notes.
Soffer's Broader Gambling Ambitions
This is not Soffer's first attempt to expand his footprint in South Florida gambling. He previously sought approval to shift his gambling permit from the Big Easy Casino to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort, an effort tied to his push to add a casino there — but that bid was blocked by city officials and residents, according to The Real Deal. Soffer contributed $300,000 to political action committees as part of that broader campaign, the outlet reports, though the Miami Beach effort ultimately failed.
Soffer owns both the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort and the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a resort and casino on the Strip that opened in December 2023, per casino.org. The question of whether gambling permits can be transferred between Florida properties remains a live legal and political issue in the state. Florida law, under Chapter 849, Section 086 of the Florida Statutes, provides that the division shall transfer certain cardroom licenses without requiring a referendum election when a permitholder relocates under a separate statutory provision — though the full scope of that law extends beyond the excerpt available.
A Regional Pattern of Casino-Adjacent Development
Hallandale Beach is not the only South Florida community seeing major redevelopment near gambling venues. In Pompano Beach, a 223-acre mixed-use project known as The Pomp is set to replace the city's harness racetrack with 4,000 rental apartments, two hotels, industrial space and entertainment venues, according to the Sun Sentinel. Trade publication GGB Magazine has reported that developers across Florida are increasingly building near casinos, particularly along U.S. 441, though the outlet cautioned that proximity to a casino does not guarantee income-producing results.
Whether Hallandale Beach commissioners grant Soffer's requested waiver next week will determine how quickly the Big Easy Casino's transformation can move toward formal site plans. For now, the fate of the aging property — and the much larger gambling and entertainment complex Soffer hopes to build in its place — rests with the city.
