The Seminole Tribe of Florida, a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in Florida, together with Seminole Gaming, publicly announced on Thursday, January 5, their intention to build a new facility on the Brighton Seminole Reservation, located northwest of lake Okeechobee.

Layout of the proposed hotel & casino:

Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will offer a casino of almost 38,000 square feet in total and will involve ample space for a total of 623 slot machines and 18 tables for blackjack, baccarat and other house-banked card games.

It will also involve a smoke-free gaming room with 101 slot machines and a high-limit gaming room with 42 slot machines and 4 table games.

As for the restaurants, the casino-hotel will have a 24-hour restaurant that can hold a maximum of 124 guests, a steak house with a maximum of 60 guests and a quick-service and carry-out coffee bar and pizza kitchen.

However, that’s not all as it will have an indoor event space with a snack bar that can be configured to hold 400 guests for bingo games or banquets, or 900 guests for a performance hall.

Great expectations from the new hotel-casino:

The new hotel-casino will replace the Seminole Brighton Casino, which first officially opened in 1980 and is located three miles north of the site of the future proposed casino. It is one of six casinos managed by Seminole Gaming for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

As the existing Seminole Brighton Casino has been and remains a must-see dining and entertainment destination  for visitors to the Brighton Seminole Reservation, home to more than 500 Seminole Tribe members, the new hotel-casino is projected to increase the number of visitors in the reservation.

In this regard, Marcellus Osceola Jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, said: “Breaking ground for the new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton represents a major economic step forward for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the entire Lake Okeechobee region.

“We’re excited to bring a new level of gaming, dining and entertainment to the area, and we look forward to welcoming our current and future guests.”

The first hotel-casino built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation:

The latest casino-hotel addition will include the first hotel ever to be constructed on the Brighton Seminole Reservation.

The hotel part will involve 100 guest rooms with a total of 72,000 square meters on four floors. These guest rooms will feature a mix of rooms with one king and two double beds. In addition, it will have three apartments and a fitness center, i.e. a gym.

Furthermore, the pool and amenity deck connected to the hotel will feature a 1,500 square foot pool with a built-in sun shelf and a 12,500 square foot pool deck with space for 76 lounge chairs, 40 chairs and 2 cabanas.

Additionally, the hotel will have an open stage, aka other entertainment event, and will be able to hold up to 3,000 guests for concerts, comedy shows and other performances. What’s more, it will offer an 8,400 square foot 8-lane bowling alley, which will be able to hold 32 guests for dining or events!

This new hotel-casino will be Seminole’s fourth gaming facility with a hotel. Other facilities are: Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

New 75-acre site for proposed hotel-casino:

The new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will be constructed on a 75-acre site, which includes a 10-acre lake and parking lot for more than 1,000 vehicles.

The location of this new site is at 15005 Reservation Road, nearly three miles south of the Seminole Brighton Casino.