Seminole Hard Rock has announced the grand opening dates for its two massive expansion projects totaling $2.2 billion. Officials said Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will open on October 3 and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood—location of the world’s first guitar-shaped hotel—will make its debut on October 24. Economic studies indicate the expansions will create 19,000 direct and indirect jobs, including construction jobs.
The $1.5 billion expansion at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood includes an iconic 450-foot tall guitar-shaped hotel that can be seen for miles. Hard Rock International Chairman and Seminole Gaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Allen said, “The guitar tower will attract casino players and other visitors from throughout the country and around the world. It will put South Florida on the map as a world-class gaming destination, and it will have a huge economic impact on Florida. The gaming industry will never be the same.”
The guitar tower will feature six illuminated guitar “strings” on each side. It will include 638 luxury oversized guestrooms and suites. Another seven-story tower next to the new pool complex will offer 168 guest rooms, including exclusive swim-up suites. The two new hotels plus the existing 465 guest rooms will bring the resort’s room total to 1,271.
Guests entering through the new porte cochere will experience the Oculus, a sight-and-sound extravaganza combining elements of water, fire and technology in choreographed floor-to-ceiling shows.
In Tampa, a more traditional 14-story hotel tower will anchor a $700 million expansion. It will include 562 additional guest rooms and suites, a new pool deck, an events center and an expansion of the gaming floor which already is the largest in Florida. After construction it will offer 245,000 square feet of gaming space, adding 1,000 new slots and 41 new table games for a total of 5,000 slots and 179 table games, plus a 46-table poker room. A new VIP gaming section with an exclusive check-in area and private elevators will be available near the top of the new hotel tower.
The Tampa resort’s new porte-cochere will lead to a new gold and glass lobby spotlighting Elvis Presley’s 24-karat gold leaf-plated 1928 Kimball Piano Company grand piano encircled by two curved escalators. The second floor will house a 2,000-seat entertainment center and 17,000-square-foot grand ballroom. The expansion will allow the resort to host “60 major entertainment acts each year,” according to a statement by the casino.
The new 60,000-square-foot pool deck will have three pools that together will hold 200,000 gallons of water. A full-service Pool Bar & Grill also will be available along with 20 cabanas, 700 lounges and daybeds and two DJ booths. Inside, the Constant Grind will feature coffee and gelato and a new Italian fine-dining concept will be one of the resort’s 14 restaurants and bars.
The complex also will offer the Rock Spa & Salon, which will have 13 treatment rooms including a Hard Rock-themed Rhythm & Motion room, Turkish-style hammam steam room, two VIP suites, a hair and nail salon, a barber shop and a co-ed aqua lounge.
