Seminoles announce $1.8 billion expansion plans for Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

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Florida’s Seminole Tribe has announced plans for a $1.8 billion expansion of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, but the project may die on the vine because of the state’s failure to approve a gambling agreement with the tribe.

The proposal calls for a guitar shaped hotel with 800 rooms, according to the Sun Sentinal.

The expansion was contingent on the state legislature’s approval of a deal reached between the tribe and Governor Rick Scott in December. That agreement would have generated $3 billion in revenue for the state over the next seven years and grants the tribe exclusive rights to have roulette, craps, and other table games.

The expansion would create 20,000 jobs, according to the Seminoles, with the hotel “trying to create something that is iconic, that creates international tourism coming to Florida,” says Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen. This includes cabanas and tikis “submerged in water.”

However, the gambling agreement may not pass the legislature. In late February, the Senate Appropriations Committee tabled bills that would have ratified the contract with the tribe, SB 7074, and the chances of the legislation being revived this season are remote, The Tampa Bay Times has reported.

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