Background The
Hard Rock Cafe first became involved in hotel ownership in the 1990s. In 1995, Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Peter Morton spent $80 million to open the Hard Rock Hotel near the
Las Vegas Strip in
Las Vegas,
Nevada In May 2006, Morton sold the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas to
Morgans Hotel Group for $770 million, including the rights to the
Hard Rock Hotel brand west of the Mississippi, including
Texas, California, Australia, and
Vancouver, British Columbia.
Seminole Tribe acquisition of Hard Rock (2006-2007) On December 7, 2006,
the Rank Group sold its
Hard Rock business to the
Seminole Tribe of Florida for $965 million. Included in the deal were 124
Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Rank retained the Hard Rock Casino in London, and rebranded it the G Casino Piccadilly. The
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was also not part of the deal, as Peter Morton sold it to Morgans Hotel Group in May 2006. The final takeover was mired in controversy, due to a payment clause in a contract with one casino developer, Power Plant Entertainment. Power Plant and the Seminoles announced a settlement in April 2007 which both sides called equitable. On January 8, 2007, Rank shareholders approved the Seminoles' $965 million offer. The Tribe announced it had finalized the deal on March 11, 2007.
Expansion in casinos and hotels (2008-present) On June 22, 2008, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood began "Vegas-style" table gambling in addition to the
Class II slots already in operation. To win approval for the table games, which were barred under Florida law, the Seminole Tribe paid the
state of Florida $100 million as part of a 25-year pact signed by Governor
Charlie Crist. On July 3, 2008, the
Florida Supreme Court ruled that the governor's agreement was unconstitutional, but table games continue to operate because the federal Department of the Interior approved the now-invalid pact with the state. A similar issue stemmed with sports betting in Florida under the Hard Rock Bet app. Through a new gaming compact, the Seminole Tribe began to offer off-grounds
sports betting. Once live in 2021, lawsuits caused the Seminole Tribe to halt operations. Relaunching in November 2023 for returning players, the Seminole Tribe of Florida now operates online sports betting too. In recent years, its division
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has acquired properties such as
The Mirage for $1.075 billion in 2021. Other projects include the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Athens in
Athens, and
Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, among others. It has been bidding to build an
integrated resort called
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Metropolitan Park adjacent to
Citi Field in
Flushing, New York. ==Assets and divisions==