Seminoles Kick Off Grand Opening Party For Casino Expansion

Residents in the north end of Broward County have had to travel to Hollywood in recent years if they wanted to experience the pleasures of Vegas-style casinos. The Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood is the closest thing that South Floridians have to a Las Vegas casino.

That was before the Seminoles spent $150 million to upgrade their Coconut Creek casino. The upgrades were finally completed this past week and the Seminoles are celebrating the achievement in grand style with an opening that included a visit from Foreigner and Ty Pennington.

The Extreme Makeover host was on hand to usher in a new era of gambling in South Florida. Gone are the old, worn down slot machines that helped open the Creek casino, replaced with the latest in slot technology. The slots in the casino now are all linked not only to other slots in the Creek casino, but in Seminole casinos throughout the state. It has created an atmosphere of big winner hopefuls.

"I have come here since the casino opened," said Larry Newstreet. "I never thought I'd see the day that this casino rivals Las Vegas, but outside of lacking a hotel, this casino now has it all. I'm excited for the new restaurants, slots, and the fun atmosphere that has been created."

The past few years have seen the Coconut Creek casino go from a small slot parlor, to a world-class gaming facility. The Seminoles are considering their next project, which would be to build a hotel similar to the one they have at their Hollywood casino.

The entertainment has been upgraded at the casino as well. Before the expansion, the casino relied mostly on local acts, bringing in national acts only on a rare celebration occasion. Already in the first week since the casino was upgraded, Foreigner and Louie Anderson.

One of the biggest additions to the casino has been the Stax, a large poker room that is now home to major tournaments and round the clock cash games. Poker players have swamped to the casino to try their skills against other top players in the area.

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