TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Vegas-Style Slots To Chime At Hard Rock By Summer

ADVERTISEMENT

By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2008

TAMPA - The Seminole Tribe of Florida said Wednesday that it expects to begin offering Las Vegas-style slot machine gambling by early summer at its Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa.

The Seminole Tribe also said it plans to phase in blackjack, baccarat and pai gow poker by this fall and hire about 1,000 new employees at the Tampa casino, many of whom will be card dealers, spokesman Gary Bitner said.

Overall, Hard Rock said it is planning to hire 3,650 dealers for its seven Florida casinos.

The announcement Wednesday to begin Las Vegas-style gambling in Tampa follows a compact between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe that took effect in January.

The Florida Supreme Court is expected to review a challenge to the compact by legislative opponents of gambling, but the federal government has said it would approve the Seminoles request to operate Las Vegas-style slot machines.

The new games are expected to increase the draw to the casino at Tampa's Hard Rock and possibly turn it into a regional attraction, analysts with The Spectrum Gaming Group consulting firm have said.

The Seminole Tribe plans to recruit dealers from places with casinos that offer high-stakes games. The Seminoles said they plan to recruit primarily in New Jersey, Mississippi and Connecticut, rather than Florida. But experienced dealers in the Tampa Bay area are welcome to apply for openings, Bitner said. Information about job openings can be found at workhardrock.com.

About 1,800 of the new slot machines are in operation at two of the Seminoles' South Florida casinos; Tampa is next in line to get the machines.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT