Last February the Seminole Tribe of Florida said it would start a .8 billion building boom at its Tampa and Hollywood casino resorts if a gaming compact signed by Governor Rick Scott and Seminole Chairman James Billie was approved by lawmakers. It was not, and as a result the tribe has drastically scaled back its plans at the Tampa property.
Construction already has begun on thhe Seminoles’ new plan, which will add a 30,000 square foot gaming area, 50-table poker room, a new 750-space parking garage and a new restaurant and other amenities.
The original plan, announced in February, would have added in Tampa a second 500-room hotel tower to the existing 244 rooms; a 2,000-seat music venue; new banquet and meeting facilities; a new restaurant and lobby bar; and a remodel of the existing Hard Rock Cafe. Also, a 36-story guitar-shaped hotel would have been added to the Hollywood facility, bringing total rooms to 1,273. Observers estimated the Tampa project alone would have cost $650 million. The two projects would have created 4,800 new permanent full-time jobs and more than 14,000 construction jobs.
As of now, a hotel expansion is not included in the Tampa project and no expansion is planned at Hollywood. Tampa Hard Rock President John Fontana said, “This expansion project will create over 100 new permanent jobs at the casino and keep hundreds of Tampa Bay Area construction workers busy for the next year. These new additions to the property will clearly enhance the guest experience and attract more tourists from around the country.”
The proposed 20-year gambling compact would have allowed the Seminoles to keep their blackjack exclusivity and add roulette and craps in exchange for giving the state $3 billion over seven years. The deal also would have allowed slot machines at existing dog and horse tracks across the state—which analysts said partly doomed the arrangement.
Another upgrade is taking place at Casino Miami, originally built more than 80 years ago for jai-alai and transformed into a casino five years ago. The $20 million renovation will include a revamped entryway, which will be completed within a year, Chief Executive Officer Dave Jonas said. Another $5 million will be spent to upgrade the roof and restrooms. Two new bars, Whiskies whisky bar and MIA, named for the nearby Miami International Airport, plus an as-yet unnamed sports bar, also will be added. Club Rio will be renovated and equipped with electronic table games.
“We’re bringing it into 2016, making it something that we can be proud of. When we’re done the whole sense of arrival should look like what you’d expect at a Las Vegas casino. We’re really adding spaces while working within a fairly limited budget. We’re trying to add spaces that create reasons for people to show up,” Jonas said.
