House money: Builder tops off resort project

Hard-luck gamblers can now clearly see where some of their money has gone.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has “topped off” the new 15-story hotel tower that serves as the centerpiece of the Tampa resort’s $700 million expansion and renovation.

In a ceremony that included members of the Seminole tribal community, Miami-based builder Suffolk Yates placed the final steel beam atop the framework of the tower, which will add 564 hotel rooms and suites to the property. The beam was hoisted to the top of the structure along with a Christmas tree and the flags of the United States, Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The Seminole Tribe has invested a total of $2.4 billion in upgrades to its casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, it says in a news release. Improvements to the Tampa site will bring its footprint to 200,000 square feet — making it one of the largest casinos in the United States. When the work is complete, the facility will boast 5,000 slot machines and nearly 200 gaming tables.

Topping-off ceremonies, which originated in Scandinavia, usually involve a celebration of the construction crew responsible for a new building, and Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and chairman of Hard Rock International, did not break from tradition.

“Today is an exceptional day,” Allen states in the release. “I thank everyone involved in this project, from the designers and engineers to the day-to-day laborers that are showing the world what the Seminole Tribe and the Hard Rock brand are truly about — unconquered vision, unparalleled service and unlimited future.”

The tribe’s investment has created nearly 1,000 full- and part-time jobs over the course of the two-year project, expected to be completed by mid-2019, according to the release. Indirectly, the project has created 1,022 permanent jobs in addition to 2,268 construction jobs.