The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s .6 billion expansion at its Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa will make it the largest hotel complex in the city. One goal of the expansion is to attract more international guests, said Jim Allen, chief executive officer at Seminole Gaming. Currently most of the casino’s guests come from Orlando, Tampa or other Central Florida areas. Now casino officials believe the hotel could potentially become an international tourism destination. However, the current hotel is too small to accommodate a large influx of guests.
“Right now our business model does not allow us to market in those areas. If someone from those areas calls up, we don’t have the room for them,” Allen said.
However, Bob Jarvis, a professor of gambling law at Nova Southeastern University, said, “Those people are going to go to Disney. Nobody is sitting there saying ‘Let’s go to the Hard Rock.’”
Meanwhile, in the other Hard Rock casino in Florida, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, recently opened the upscale Japanese restaurant Kuro. With a cost of $12 million, it’s the last piece of a $100 million-plus renovation that included an expanded high-limit area for table games, a redesigned lobby bar, pool improvements and renovated hotel rooms and suites.
Guests will enter Kuro through the resort lobby, passing a wall composed of 100,000 hand-placed seashells, signaling the restaurant’s land-and-sea décor. Floor-to-ceiling bay windows line the perimeter, providing a full view of the casino pool.
Executive Chef Alex Becker brings international experience having worked at Nobu and SBE’s Katsuya, two of the world’s most respected Asian restaurant brands. He said Kuro combines classic Japanese techniques to craft contemporary meals, with a menu including chilled dishes such as Hokkaido scallop sashimi and seared salmon sashimi and tuna tataki; tempura dishes such as corn kakiage and maitake mushrooms; grilled entrees such as chicken momo, wagyu tacos and beef negima; and a wide array of sushi.
Justin Wyborn, Seminole Hard Rock’s vice president of food and beverage, said Kuro’s average per-person check will be $90, comparable to the Hard Rock’s other upscale restaurant, Council Oak Steaks and Seafood.
Operating hours are 5:30-10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5:30-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
