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Seminole Tribe announces expanded gambling options -- craps, roulette, sports betting -- at all Florida locations

By Alfred Charles, Joan Murray

November 1, 2023 / 11:46 AM EDT / CBS Miami

Seminole Tribe announces expanded gambling options -- craps, roulette, sports betting -- at all Flor

FORT LAUDERDALE -- The Seminole Tribe of Florida on Wednesday announced the rollout of expanded gaming options next month, which will include sports betting, at all of its six casinos.

In a written news release, the tribe said it would begin the new games on Dec. 7 at its South Florida locations before rolling out the additional gaming options at other Florida locations.

HOLLYWOOD, FL - MAY 11: A poker player prepares to throw her chips on the table May 11, 2004 during the grand opening for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. South Florida's Seminole Indian Tribe has opened the state's biggest casino complex. The hotel has 500 rooms, 4,000 video gaming machines, poker tables and several restaurants. The public area has large ballrooms and a six-acre pool site with a 180-foot water slide. The Seminoles have shown big profits in past years by selling tax-free cigarettes and operating bingo halls, but the Hard Rock is its biggest venture thus far. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"Craps, roulette and sports betting will launch to the public on Thursday, December 7 at all three Seminole Casinos in South Florida: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood and Seminole Casino Coconut Creek," the tribe's statement said. "On Friday, December 8, the new games will launch at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. On Monday, December 11, the new games will launch at Seminole Casino Immokalee, near Naples, and Seminole Brighton Casino, on the northwest side of Lake Okeechobee."

The expanded betting at Seminole gaming sites came about a week after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency bid on Oct. 25 to block the multibillion-dollar agreement between Florida and the Seminole Tribe to offer online sports betting throughout the state.

According to CNN, the agreement, or "compact," was championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is projected to bring in $2.5 billion in new revenue over the next five years and an estimated $6 billion through 2030, CNN said.

"The Seminole Tribe of Florida's new initiative will create jobs, increase tourism, and provide billions in added revenue for our state," DeSantis said in the statement. "I was proud to work with the Tribe on our historic Gaming Compact and I look forward to its full implementation."

"With the expansion of the new scope, we are creating over 1,000 new jobs made possible by the Compact," said Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Chairman of Hard Rock International. "This is a historic milestone that immediately puts Florida in the same league with the world's great gaming destinations."