Florida State Representative Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), a long-time gaming industry executive, was hospitalized on Sunday for COVID-19.
“So I got the X-ray back and it wasn’t what I expected. The doctor said I have some pretty serious damage in my lungs and is ordering me admitted to the hospital,” Fine wrote on his Facebook page shortly after 5:30 p.m.
In a text message to Florida Today, he confirmed he was at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
“I’m not going to lie — I’m pretty scared. I didn’t even see the boys before I left because I figured I’d be back in a couple of hours,” he said.
Fine’s coronavirus infection was confirmed on July 22, along with that of his two sons, David, 8, and Jacob, 12, just days after his wife Wendy tested positive. They self-isolated and tested positive after finding out that they had been in contact with a person several days prior who later tested positive.
“They feel back to normal,” he said of his wife and kids in a text.
Randy Fine
Gaming industry career
Before moving to Florida, Fine worked for the then Harrah’s Entertainment in 2003, where he oversaw the relaunch of Harrah’s Total Rewards customer loyalty program.
After Harrah’s, Fine worked for billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn as a top executive in Las Vegas during Icahn’s ownership of the Stratosphere, two Arizona Charlie’s casinos, and the Aquarius in Laughlin.
Fine developed the Las Vegas-based Fine Point Group, a casino management organization. In 2009, the company was given a one-year contract by creditors of the then-bankrupt Greektown Casino in Detroit, where in 12 months, his team grew revenues 9%.
The Fine Point Group advised casino operators in Las Vegas, San Diego, Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.
COVID-19 diagnosis
Fine told Florida Today his condition does not require supplemental oxygen or a ventilator.
“Good news is they want me here as a precaution — for observation. Nothing about my present condition requires supplemental oxygen, let alone a ventilator,” Fine wrote in his post.
“But they feel as though things could fall apart quickly and if I do need those things it is better that I am here.”
(Combined article via CDC Gaming and Florida Today)
