The Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Gaming broke ground yesterday- Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 -- at the site of the future Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton, an entirely new casino, hotel and entertainment complex to be built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation, located northwest of Lake Okeechobee. It is projected to open in late 2024, less than two years from the start of construction.
The Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will replace the existing Seminole Brighton Casino, which first opened in 1980 and is located three miles north of the site of the future Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton. It is one of six casino complexes operated by Seminole Gaming for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will include a casino with a total of nearly 38,000 square feet, including space for a total of 623 slot machines and 18 tables for blackjack, baccarat and other house-banked card games. Included in the totals are a smoke-free gaming space with 101 slot machines and a high-limit gaming area with 42 slot machines and four table games.
Dining options will include a 24-hour restaurant with 124 seats, a steak house with 60 seats and a fast-service and carry-out cafe offering a combination of items from a coffee bar and pizza kitchen. An indoor event space with snack bar can be configured to offer 400 seats for banquet events or bingo games, or 900 seats set up as a performance hall.
A 100-room hotel
The new casino complex will include the first hotel to be built on the Brighton Seminole Reservation. It will feature 100 guest rooms on four stories, totaling 72,000 square feet. Guest rooms will include a mix of rooms with one king bed and two queen beds, plus three suites and a fitness center.
The Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will be the fourth Seminole Gaming facility with a hotel. The others are the Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.
A pool and amenity deck adjacent to the hotel will offer a 1,500 square foot pool with a built-in sun shelf, plus a 12,500 square foot pool deck with space for 76 chaise lounges, 40 chairs and two cabanas.
An outdoor stage will provide a second entertainment venue at the complex that will accommodate as many as 3,000 guests for concerts, comedy shows or other performances.
In a first for any Seminole Casino, the new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will include an 8-lane bowling alley of 8,400 square feet, with 32 seats for dining or events.
The entire Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton complex will be built on a 75-acre site that will also include a 10-acre lake and parking for more than 1,000 vehicles. The new site is located at 15005 Reservation Road, about three miles south of the existing Seminole Brighton Casino.
The existing Seminole Brighton Casino is an important destination for dining and entertainment on the Brighton Seminole Reservation, where more than 500 members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida reside. The casino complex also attracts guests from nearby Okeechobee and Highlands Counties, as well as from residential areas around Lake Okeechobee.
Tourists visiting the region for fishing and other outdoors activities are also frequent visitors to the Seminole Brighton Casino. The new casino and hotel complex is expected to increase the number of tourists to the region.
"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," said Marcellus Osceola Jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe. "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."