ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline, the commuter train they currently serves South Florida but will soon make a stop in Orlando, is poised to be one of the major beneficiaries of the new Seminole tribe gaming compact.
While there will be no expansion of gambling in Central Florida, the Seminole tribe will be allowed to expand in South Florida. In addition parimutuels in South Florida will be allowed to move locations.
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This development means the train, which is still below long-term projections for rider revenue, will soon be able to whisk passengers from central Florida to south Florida and its expanded casinos.
Brightline Holdings LLC is owned by Fortress Investment which also has investments in other gaming enterprises including Penn National Gaming.
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For its part the company has downplayed the connection when asked about Florida’s pending expansion of gambling saying, “regarding our trainsets between here and out west – our Florida trains run on biodiesel and Brightline West will operate zero-emission, electric trains. Together, these routes will remove more than a half million tons of CO2 emissions annually by eliminating 7.6 million vehicle trips.”
Cox Media Group
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