Seminole Casino Offers Jackpot If Satellite Hits
In a return to the good old days of Benny Binion, when gambling on anything and everything was allowed and covered, one casino has offered a million-dollar jackpot to a lucky customer, if a piece of the recently destroyed satellite hits the casino.
Steve Bonner, general manager of the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, had a bull's-eye painted 100 feet across the roof of the building, located in Broward County, Florida, and the casino will hold a random drawing to determine the prize winner, if a piece of the space debris lands there.
The satellite, which had left its orbit and was threatening to reenter the atmosphere as a potentially disastrous hazard, was targeted for destruction by the Pentagon and subsequently shot down by the Navy. Although the success of the mission was uncertain, the operation went exactly as planned.
The Pentagon noted that, although almost all the satellite would burn up on reentry, a few pieces the size of footballs would hit the ground.
"The Navy hit the satellite in just one shot, so we'll give our patrons one shot at winning a big pile of money," said Bonner.
The casino opened in 2000, on a piece of tribal land that previously contained only a drive-through cigarette store. Since Bonner took over the daily running of the place, it has gone from a small, plain structure with a handful of slots to an impressive, Vegas-style entertainment complex, with over 1500 slot machines, two restaurants, an upscale lounge,poker rooms, and eye-catching architecture and design.
Future plans call for a 1500-room hotel, complete with surrounding retail space and more restaurants, as well as further gaming area. The Seminole Tribe has reached a compact with the state of Florida allowing the tribe rights to blackjack and baccarat, but the additional games are on hold, awaiting a legal challenge from the legislature.
