Hard Rock Receives Federal Approval On Table Games

Even though the Seminole Hard Rock Casino has been dealing cards for years, the federal government has finally signed off on the tribe’s rights to operate table games at the South Florida casino.

In 2008 the Florida Supreme Court threw out a gaming compact between the tribe and Governor Charlie Crist, which authorized the tribe to conduct table games, for failure to obtain approval from state legislatures.

However the tribe opened table games anyways, based on the grounds that the compact was legally binding under the U.S. Department of Interior’s approval, leaving the state no authority to shut them down.

It has taken almost two years for the tribe and the state to reach a compact that was acceptable to all parties, with the 2010 gaming compact recognizing the tribe’s right to operate table games in exchange for $1 billion a year over the next five years.

On Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs’ approval was published in the Federal Registry, finalizing the deal.

“The members of the Seminole Tribe want to thank U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for approving our Gaming Compact with the State of Florida,” said Tribe Chairman Mitchell Cypress in a statement. “Sometimes it takes a long journey to reach your goal, and it means more when you finally get there.”