Seminole Hard Rock expansion boosts casino size

The Seminoles notified the state of its plans in a short, two-paragraph letter in April that didn't reveal how many table games or slots it has in mind. Also, Hillsborough County development officials had no information this week, because the casino sits on federal land.

A spokesman for the Tribe declined comment this week, because the Seminoles want to reveal the news later this month. By adding 2,972 sqm, the Tribe will be adding casino space roughly the size of a Best Buy store.

Finding a reliable list of the biggest US casinos is difficult, but at 20,438 sqm the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa likely may become one of the country's biggest casinos, tribal or not. The biggest US casino likely is the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, operated by the Mohegan Tribe. It operates 32,516 sqm of gaming space in three casinos, according to the online journal Indiangaming.com.

The rival Foxwoods casino in Mashantucket, operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, has about 29.728 sqm, the Web site says. By comparison, one of the Las Vegas Strip's biggest casinos, the MGM Grand, has only about 15,793 sqm. This would be at least the Tribe's third major construction major project at the Tampa casino in four years.

The casino did a major expansion in 2007, adding 5,109 sqm to its casino floor, 1,099 new gaming machines and the Council Oak steakhouse. Last year, it replaced its Floyd's nightclub with a Hard Rock Café. The Tribe also is spending more than us$ 100 million expanding its casino in Coconut Creek in Broward County.

The Tribe may be funding its recent expansions out of the proceeds of bonds it issued last year. In October, the Tribe issued us$ 367 million in bonds, with the proceeds to go toward expansion and renovations of its casinos. In a news release about the bonds, Fitch Ratings noted that us$ 75 million would go to add gaming space and parking in Tampa.

Under its gaming compact with Florida, the Seminole Tribe is required to start sharing its gaming revenues with the state next July, a spokeswoman for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation said.