Hard Rock Plans 2 Casinos on Seminole Land

Hard Rock Cafe International Inc., known for its music-themed restaurants, said Monday it is developing two Florida casinos at a cost of $400 million with Cordish Co. and the Seminole tribe of American Indians.

Hard Rock and Cordish are building the casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., on two Seminole reservations. Orlando-based Hard Rock will run the Hard Rock restaurants and shops, while the tribe will operate the casinos, Hard Rock said.

Hard Rock, which runs 105 restaurants that feature music memorabilia and live performances, is redesigning some of the restaurants and expanding into real estate, casinos and hotels. The company plans to open a 650-room hotel in Orlando this month and is building another in Pattaya, Thailand.

Baltimore-based Cordish, a development company, and the Seminoles are close to securing financing for the casinos, Hard Rock Chief Financial Officer Scott Little said. The casinos will replace those that the tribe runs in Hollywood and Tampa now.

Hard Rock already licenses a Hard Rock casino in Las Vegas, run by company founder Peter Morton. The company is a unit of London-based Rank International, which also runs Grosvenor Casinos in Europe.