No Hulk Hogan, no Vegas showgirls, not even a ceremonial first pull of the slots.

It just wouldn’t feel right at the Seminole Casino Hollywood. The formal arrival of Vegas-style slots came to the 28-year-old casino last week with a night that included events for both the regular player and the VIPs. The casino sent out 9,000 invitations for opening night.

The casino became the fourth in the Seminoles’ chain to roll out Class III (Vegas-style) slots, which pit the player against the house, rather than against each other. The first Seminole casino to offer the slots was the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, followed by casinos in Coconut Creek and Tampa.

The smoky Hollywood casino – known as “Seminole Classic” by locals -- sits across the street from the glitzy Hard Rock, which on Jan 28 brought in former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, showgirls and tribe members to introduce Class III slots. Since April, Seminole Classic has converted 541 of its 903 machines.

The simpler ambience is exactly what attracts players such as Thannya Wolfe of Plantation, who has been coming to casino since it first opened as a bingo hall in 1979.

“It’s our second home, and it just feels comfortable here,” Wolfe said, who meets her sister, who lives in Hollywood, a couple of times each week to play bingo and slots.

The Seminole Casino Hollywood was the first of the tribe’s casinos, opening in 1979 as a bingo hall. For the next 12 years, bingo was the main attraction, with payouts often crossing $100,000. “Lightning bingo” came in 1990 and the tribe’s first video display terminals (Class II machines) arrived in a year later.

The Seminoles considered tearing it down when the Hard Rock arrived in 2004, but then decided it served a loyal and unique following, Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner said.
“It’s significant and important from a business perspective, but also from a historical perspective,” he said. “It’s the place where it all started.”

Unlike most casinos, Seminole Classic doesn’t have a special area for high rollers, and the building expanded bit by bit. But the everyday-person clientele has a bond with casino floor staff, security and food servers, about half of whom have worked at the casino for at least five years, GM Adrian Fox noted.

“We know about them, they know about us, and we like that,” said Florence Renz of Hallandale Beach, who plays bingo and slots.

The slots conversion to Class IIIs will continue, but the casino faces a business challenge that others don’t, Fox noted: Some players are dedicated to playing machines created before they could take Players Club cards. So management must respect customers’ habits while also providing enough modern frills to keep up with the competition.