Seminole Tribe's casino in Tampa, which now offers affordable stud poker, bingo and simulated slot machines, is planning a multi-million dollar makeover.
In partnership with Hard Rock Cafe International, a global entertainment conglomerate with ties to European gambling, Seminoles says it will build resorts with the amenities and appeal of Las Vegas-style casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, near Miami.
Despite Florida voters rejecting casinos and big-ticket gambling three times in 24 years, the tribe is working on casino plans using existing low-stakes gambling permits. State officials and opponents of gambling can only watch as the tribe moves forward. "There's nothing I can do," says John Glagau, Florida's deputy attorney general, who has fought the tribe in a stalemate over the past decade. Glagau says the tribe's mock slot machines are "clearly illegal," but tribal officials insist and insist that their game consoles meet the rules of the law. 바카라사이트
Federal authorities, which have more regulatory power than state officials on the reservation, have sided with the tribe in recent years to allow the machines. The tribe plans to operate 1,500 slot machines and 55 poker tables at its Tampa facility.