Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Nov. 14th, 2007 signed a 25-year casino pact to allow the tribe to operate Class 3 gaming -- including blackjack and baccarat card games as well as Vegas-style slots -- at its seven casinos in return for giving the state a minimum of $100 million a year.
The Seminole casino compact was approved by the U.S. Interior Department, the Seminoles have paid the first installment to the state, and by late June were offering Vegas-style slots at several of their casinos and table games at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood. But the future of table games was thrown into doubt July 3rd when the state Supreme Court ruled that Crist exceeded his authority in expanding gambling in Florida. Meanwhile, three new racinos have been approved to open at Miami-Dade County parimutuels in addition to the four Broward County parimutuels allowed to offer Class 3 slots, but not table games. The parimutuels pay a 50 percent tax to the state, and contend Seminole deal gives the tribe a huge advantage.
Indian Casinos
Miccosukee Resort and Casino
Miccosukee Resort & Gaming provides guests with hotel, convention and special event accommodations; five dining options, from a steakhouse featuring exotic specialties an International Buffet; daily live entertainment, dancing, and big name shows and sports events. It also provides 24-hour-a-day gaming. Miccosukee Resort & Gaming looks like a Las Vegas casino (well, maybe a downtown Las Vegas casino), sounds like a Las Vegas casino, and has the ambiance of a Las Vegas casino. But at present, it does not have Las Vegas casino games.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
A half hour north of Miami, and just off the Florida's Turnpike exit immediately south of Fort Lauderdale, The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino lights up the South Florida night. This 86-acre resort has a 4-acre lagoon tropical pool area with a theme-park-style water slide, legendary Hard Rock Cafe, and European-style spa and fitness center. It also has an active afterdark outdoor shopping area with a variety of restaurants, boutiques, an Improv, live bands and more. Most importantly, the Seminole Hard Rock features a 130,000-square-foot casino, offering nearly 2,500 gaming machines, and 50 tables of live-action Poker, with games ranging from Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold'em to Omaha. While poker rooms at the nearby South Florida racinos are only allowed by Florida law to operate 12 hours a day, the Seminole Hard Rock poker room (see below) is open around-the-clock, hosting daily multiple-table tournaments as well as $140, $250, $520, and $1,050 single table offerings.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa
Just off I-4, five minutes east of historic Ybor City and 10 minutes from downtown Tampa, sits the The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. This is not quite the complete luxury resort of its sister on the opposite coast. In fact, hard as it may be to believe, this Hard Rock Hotel does NOT even have a Hard Rock Cafe (a guest manager said there was not enough room for both good burgers and a first-class restaurant). But it has cascading fountains, a large pool, live entertainment, and a full-service spa and fitness center. But with its recent expansion, it has two first-class restaurants: the Council Oak for steaks and Floyd's for find dining and late night entertainment. Most importantly, Tampa's Hard Rock also features a recently expanded 150,000-square-foot casino, offering 3,180 gaming machines, and 50 tables of live-action poker, with games ranging from Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold'em to Omaha. While the slot area on the midweek day we visited was not exactly mobbed (see photo below), the poker room (above) was doing a brisk business. The Seminole Hard Rock poker room is open around-the-clock, hosting daily multiple-table tournaments as well as $140, $250, $520, and $1,050 single table offerings.
Seminole Casino Immokalee
In the heart of Southwest Florida, the Seminole Casino is located in the town of Immokalee (the Indian word for "my home"), about 45 minutes from both Naples and Fort Myers. At present, the casino offers 950 gaming machines, with betting levels ranging from 2 cents to $30 per play. The highest jackpot paid out to a single winner to date is $397,000.
Seminole Casino Brighton
Just west of Lake Okeechobee, a good 90 minutes inland from West Palm Beach, about at the point where you are beginning to wonder if you may be lost, you come across the sign for the smallest of the Seminole casinos, the Seminole Casino Brighton. The reservation housing this casino sits on Florida Highway 721, in a sparcely settled rural area of sugar cane fields and cattle ranches between S.R. 78 and S.R.70. The casino opens daily at 10 am, and at present offers 240 gaming machines.
Seminole Coconut Creek Casino
In the face of increasing competition for players from the nearby Palm Beaches, the once dowdy Coconut Creek Casino was renovated in 2006-2007 and has been turned into a relatively stylish facility, with 1,510 gaming machines on the casino's main floor. Like the other five Seminole casinos in Florida, Coconut Creek at present cannot offer real slots, or games like blackjack, roulette and craps -- all of which fall into the category of Class III gaming. The gaming machines are actually class II video devices that look like slot machines, but are actually bingo games and the spinning reels are for "entertainment purposes only."
Day Casino Boats
Sun Cruz I The SunCruz I is a 91-ton boat that carries about 140 gamblers on day cruises from its dock near the Holiday Inn at Mile Marker 100 in Key Largo in the Florida Keys. SunCruz I offers slots and the full array of table games (blackjack, craps, roulette, poker). It also offers a sports book enabling gamblers to bet on their favorite college or professional teams.
The SunCruz I sails daily except Monday, with an evening cruise on Tuesday, three cruises on Wednesday, two cruises on Thursday and Friday, and three cruises on Saturday and Sunday. Reservations are not required for individuals, but contacting SunCruz for up-to-the-minute information is advised.
Aquasino Aquasino is a recently remodeled 228-foot yacht with a capacity of about 600 passengers that began sailing from the Miami Beach Marina, located off Alton Road, in the summer of 2007. Aquasino has more than 200 assorted slots and 22 blackjack tables. It also offers craps, roulette, Let It Ride, Baccarat and Three Card Poker. Aquasino also has a poker room, and a Sports Book.
It departs at 7:30 evenings Wednesday through Sunday, and has morning cruises departing at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday as well. The line said it expects to have more cruises and departure times available very soon, and we would recommend reconfirming sailing times with Aquasino before making final plans.
Horizon's Edge Horizon's Edge is a relatively new gaming ship (completed in March 2000) with a capacity of about 500 passengers that sails daily from Bayfront Park, which is adjacent to Bayside Marketplace next to (but not inside) the Port of Miami. The 186-foot-long vessel offers slot players more than 225 assorted slots and also has 11 gaming tables. It sails seven days a week departing at noon, returning at 5 in the afternoon. It also has evening cruises that sail at 7:30, returning at 12:30 am Sunday through Thursday and 1 am on Friday and Saturday evening sailings.
