Seminoles
up the ante with Hard Rock casino complex
As reported by The Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD,
Fla. - The multibillion-dollar American Indian gambling
industry had its start on a run-down stretch of State
Road 7 more than two decades ago. Today, the Seminole
Tribe of Florida's original high-stakes bingo hall is
still there, but the squat, nondescript building looks
like a relic from the past.
Just
down the road, the tribe sees its future in the massive
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino under construction,
a flashy Las Vegas-style complex. Officials expect it
and a sister complex in Tampa to more than triple annual
gambling revenues to around $1 billion when they open
early next year.
The
Hollywood complex will be the bigger of the two. It will
have 130,000 square feet of casino space, a Hard Rock
Cafe, a bar with 42 suspended plasma screen televisions,
a spa and a 6,000-seat arena for concerts, among other
features. It also will have 300,000 square feet of retail
space and restaurants.
The
15-story, 500-room hotel will charge about $150 a night
for average rooms. Allen said they already have tentative
commitments for 60,000 room-nights, or enough to fill
the hotel for four months.
The
two Seminole complexes are expected to draw more than
20,000 visitors a day, have $700 million in annual revenues
and create 6,000 full-time jobs for Indians and non-Indians,
tribal officials said.
"It's
going to be a pure economic engine," said Max Osceola,
the Hollywood representative on the tribal council.
Illusionist
returns to Vegas
for rehabilitation
Illusionist
Roy Horn of "Siegfried & Roy" returned to
his home to continue his rehabilitation under the care
of a team of doctors and therapists. Horn spokesman Dave
Kirvin said the magician arrived the afternoon of Dec.
22 from UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles, where he was
treated after being mauled by a 300-pound (135-kilogram)
white tiger on Oct. 3.
Kirvin
declined to discuss the 59-year-old Horn's condition.
Horn had been moved to UCLA Medical Centre on Oct. 28
after initially being hospitalized in Las Vegas. Doctors
have released few details since the tiger attacked Horn
during a sold-out performance at The Mirage hotel-casino.