COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Gaming today announced plans to hire 800 new fulltime employees by the end of this year as part of the $150 million expansion of the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, which is slated to open in February, 2012.

Taken together with more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs at the construction site, the mass hiring is the largest to be announced in South Florida during the past several years.  It is also the largest hiring of new employees by the Seminole Tribe and Seminole Gaming since the grand opening of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in May, 2004, and comes as an economic shot in the arm for Broward County, where the official unemployment rate is presently 9.5 percent.

Seminole Casino Coconut Creek will hold a Job Fair Wed., Nov. 2 to fill the 800 new positions.  Job fair hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of the casino, located at 5550 N.W. 40^th St., Coconut Creek, just east of State Road 7 (U.S. 441) and north of Sample Road.

The 800 new jobs will include chefs, cooks, servers, bartenders, cocktail servers and other restaurant/lounge team members.  New gaming employee jobs will include dealers, hosts, player’s club representatives, cashiers, customer service attendants, and slot machine technicians.  Other jobs will be in security, building/grounds maintenance and housekeeping. All fulltime employees for the Seminole Tribe of Florida receive a generous benefits package, including health care benefits.

The casino currently employs more than 1,000 permanent, fulltime employees.  The new Seminole Casino Coconut Creek will have 1,860 permanent fulltime employees when it opens in February.

The announcement of 800 new jobs and the investment of $150 million are additional tangible economic results from the signing of the Gaming Compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe in August, 2010.  With the opening of the expansion of the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, the Seminole Tribe of Florida will have created 5,000 new jobs at its gaming facilities since 2008, leading to an additional $240.4 million in personal household income injected into the Florida economy along with $252 million in additional purchases of in-state goods and services, according to an economic impact analysis by the Innovation Group of New Orleans.  Combining direct and indirect impacts, more than 23,000 jobs, more than $800 million in earnings and another $932 million in purchases of goods and services statewide are projected to be attributable to Seminole Gaming operations, for a total spending impact of more than $1.7 billion.

Casino to Double in Size

Seminole Casino Coconut Creek’s $150 million expansion will more than double the size of the current gaming space by 47,500 square feet and will renovate the existing 39,000-square-foot casino floor.  There will be three new restaurants: a 10,637-square-foot upscale steak restaurant, a 10,500-square-foot Italian restaurant, and a 6,700-square-foot, full-service New York-style deli.  Six hundred slot machines will be added for a total of 2,300 to play, and the number of table games, including blackjack, baccarat, pai gow poker, and chemin de Fer, will double to 69 tables.  The poker room will double in size with a total of 30 poker tables.  A 5,400-square-foot cashier’s cage will be constructed in the southwest corner of the new casino area interior.  At least two more lounge bars will be built, including one that will encompass 2,400 square feet in the center of the greatly-enlarged casino.

In keeping with the city’s MainStreet concept -- of which Seminole Casino Coconut Creek is an integral part -- a 2,400-space LEED Silver Certification-registered parking garage has already been erected that will offer 5,700 square feet of retail space on the first floor.  On the south side of the state of-the-art green garage there will be a transportation hub consisting of a 1,600-square-foot charter bus service lounge, a new 2,400-square-foot valet station, and a 3,300-square-foot guest vestibule.  Moss & Associates, based in Fort Lauderdale and Florida’s seventh-largest contractor, is the project’s general contractor.

About Seminole Casino Coconut Creek

Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek currently offers more than 1,700 gaming machines including Las Vegas-style slots: Playboy, Carnival of Mystery, Golden Monkey, Millionaire Sevens, Mayan Riches and Lion Dance, wide area progressive slot machines: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Dirty Harry, Time Machine, and Monopoly and new theme games: Star Trek, Dean Martin, Hot Hot Penny, and Reel ‘Em In.

The casino also features non-stop action in its smoke-free Poker Room upstairs for separate gaming pleasure, with a wide array of tournaments for all types of players.  Live games include Texas Hold ‘em, 7-Card Stud, and Omaha tournaments from $85 to $1,050.  In December 2010, the casino added “The Site,” offering 400-plus gaming positions, 70 new blackjack seats, a non-smoking gambling area, a new restaurant, The Whistle Stop and the Wrecking Bar.  The Site derives its name from the facility’s overall theme – that of a construction site – complete with an actual lunch wagon in its restaurant.

In 2007, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek underwent a $32 million expansion, which included the addition of a valet porte cochere entrance offering direct access to the new 6,000 square foot Fresh Harvest restaurant, Nectar ultra-lounge, a new Player’s Club, and additional casino space.  The casino also offers the Sunset Grill, located in an outdoor traditional Seminole chickee.  The Seminole Casino Coconut Creek opened in February, 2000.  It is located just east of State Road 7 (U.S. 441) and north of Sample Road at 5550 NW 40th Street.