Seminoles Bid for Hard Rock

With its $965 million deal to acquire the Hard Rock Café restaurant and casino chain from the British company Rank Group, the Seminole tribe is on the vanguard of what could be a rash of new investment from cash-flush Native American tribes.

Gambling has been very, very good to the tribe, which traces its history in Florida back 12,000 years. Seminole Gaming CEO James Allen says the tribe's Hard Rock Café-branded properties in Tampa, Fla., and Hollywood, Fla., are two of the most successful casinos anywhere in the world. Plus, he says the 3,100 member tribe has diversified its business operations, becoming the seventh-largest producer of cattle in the U.S., Florida's largest tobacco seller, and one of the state's largest citrus producers. The tribe has an investment grade (BBB-) rating from Standard & Poor's.

Because it is a sovereign entity, the Seminoles won't reveal details of its finances. But insiders say the two casinos bring in revenues of nearly $1 billion a year. According to the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal gambling nationally grew from a $5.5 billion industry in 1995 to a $19.5 billion industry in 2004. With all that money, industry watchers say the tribes are poised to break out from their casino base to begin making acquisitions in other industries. "You're going to see more deals in hospitality. They're looking at media and other entertainment, and I wouldn't be surprised to see amusement parks," said Victor Rocha, editor of the Indian gaming Web site Pechanga.net. "The tribes are cash-rich right now."

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