In an elaborate ceremony featuring many sports legends and tribal representatives, the Seminole Indians of Florida threw the switch on their live sports book in Tampa on Friday. At noon, the first bet was received in the live book (more on this in a moment), but there was plenty of action around the Hard Rock Tampa operation. Simultaneous with the opening of the live book, action was also opened into several table game options, including roulette and craps, that had previously not been available to Seminole customers.
Red Carpet Parade of Sports Luminaries
The Seminoles made the opening of their new offerings quite a spectacle, with a Red Carpet walk that featured many different legends from the world of sports. PGA champion John Daly, former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, the University of Miami’s Doug Flutie, baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, and NFL legends Eddie George and Rod Woodson were on hand for the festivities. World Wrestling Entertainment was well represented, also, by none other than two of the biggest names in their history – “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan (“I’m glad to be here,” Hogan stated to this writer, “otherwise I’d be in the middle of a workout!”). The wrestling world made its presence further known with “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart and Tampa’s very own Titus O’Neil also on the gaming floor.
Billed as “A New Era of Seminole Gaming,” the ceremonies paid tribute to the start of their new gaming options while also giving the Seminole Tribe the ability to remember their past. Master of Ceremonies J. P. Taylor opened the celebration by stating, “You know what you used to do in Vegas? Now you can do that right here in Tampa!” He then passed the mic to the members of the Seminole Tribal Council, including Chairman Marcellus Osceola, who was instrumental in negotiating the compact with the state of Florida that was signed back in 2021.
“You waited two and a half years for this, what’s a few more minutes,” the Chairman asked the assembled crowd, as he mentioned how the Tampa Seminoles who once lived on the grounds where the casino now stands had to leave their homes to allow for the building of the casino. “We remember how they sacrificed then, and we thank them for what they did.” Council member Larry Howard also remarked on how it was a combined effort between the Tribe and the state. “We as a tribe and we as a state are all in this together,” Howard said.
With the opening ceremonies out of the way, the luminaries moved to the newly erected craps and roulette tables and the sports book. Chairman Osceola grabbed the bones for the first roll of the dice (winning $48,500, which was donated to the Hard Rock Heals Foundation), while Flair entertained the crowd with his signature “WOOOOO!”
Possibilities of Online Poker?
The new offerings are a part of the 30-year compact that Chairman Osceola negotiated with Governor Ron DeSantis two years ago. Originally the Seminole Tribe opened their new gaming options rather quickly in 2021, including their mobile sports betting app, but that would prove to be problematic. A lawsuit by two other gaming entities in the state served to shut down all these new gaming options, including sports betting, as the case meandered its way through the courts.
Earlier this year, a decision at the Appellate Court changed the course of gaming in Florida. After a lower court had ruled that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a three-judge panel on the D. C. Court of Appeals overturned that decision in a unanimous vote. An attempt at an en banc hearing in front of the entirety of the D. C. Court of Appeals was denied and, with that, the legal actions came to an end.
The Seminole Tribe did take their time rolling out their sports betting options, however. Mindful of what occurred in 2021 – their mobile sports book was live for only 34 days – the Seminoles didn’t start up their online operations until the middle of November and their live book until the start of December. The Tampa operations followed the opening of action at the Hard Rock in Hollywood on Thursday, where a similar ceremony was held.
There are still some questions about mobile gaming in the state of Florida, especially when it comes to online poker. Poker News Daily asked Chairman Osceola about this and he was quite adamant that he wants to have online poker in the tribal offerings. “We wanted it two years ago, but we weren’t able to make it a part of the compact,” he stated. “We are continuing to negotiate with the state to try to bring online poker into the mix.” Chairman Osceola did not mention a timetable for such an option, however.
