BRIGHTON — A new casino and hotel on the Brighton Reservation took its first step to fruition Jan. 5 with a groundbreaking ceremony. The new Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton will be located at 15005 Reservation Road, a 75-acre site with a 10-acre lake and parking for 1,000 vehicles. It is scheduled to open in 2024.

“It’s been a long time coming for our Brighton Reservation,” Brighton Councilman Larry Howard said. “We started with nothing, just a small herd of cows. Today is a great day for our tribe, we will be able to bring more people in from all over to stay at this resort out here and enjoy themselves.”

The event on the site of the future Seminole Casino Hotel Brighton – a few miles south of the current casino – attracted hundreds of people from the community and surrounding areas. The standing room only crowd gathered under a large white tent where elected officials from Moore Haven, Okeechobee and Glades County rubbed elbows with officials from the Seminole Tribe and Seminole Gaming. The Tribal Council entered the tent to a live performance of “Seminole Wind.”

The ceremony began with the First Indian Baptist Church choir singing hymns in Creek. The colors were presented by the Seminole Honor Guard and students from Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School recited the Pledge of Allegiance in Creek and English.

The new development should take about 18 months to build and is expected to replace the existing casino sometime in 2024. No plans have been announced about the future of the existing casino building, which opened in 1980.

The new casino-hotel will feature a nearly 38,000-square-foot casino, 623 slot machines and 18 tables for blackjack, baccarat and other house-banked card games. Included in the total number of slot machines will be 101 in a smoke-free gaming space and a high-limit area with 42 slot machines and four table games.

Marty Johns has been general manager of the Seminole Brighton Casino since the 1980s. The original casino opened in 1980 in a small red barn. Johns helped his father Josiah Johns, who created the Brighton casino when he added bingo tables to the barn, and learned the bingo business from him. Josiah Johns died in 1983. About year later, Marty Johns became general manager and found out he was good at the job.

“I learned a lot about customer service and marketing,” Johns said. “We didn’t have much in our tool kit then, but we have that now thanks to Jim Allen, (CEO of Seminole Gaming and chairman of Hard Rock International). “We’ve gone from a small red barn to a 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility. It’s been an amazing ride.”

“Our most successful casino worldwide is the Brighton casino, on a percentage basis,” Allen said. “We made over $50 million in profit here last year. It’s a great job done with Marty’s leadership. I’m fortunate to work with Marty and I’m proud of him.”

Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. remembered the red barn casino.

“We outgrew it,” Chairman Osceola said. “This tribe has outgrown a lot and we will continue to grow. The revenue we generate from the casinos helps us grow and helps us in many ways because we are blessed by God above. It’s a great day and it will be a great tomorrow. Each day we get to see is a blessing.”

The hotel – a first for the reservation – will feature 100 guest rooms. It will be the fourth Seminole casino to offer lodging. The others are the Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.

The pool area will have a 1,500-square-foot pool with a built-in sun shelf, a 12,500-square-foot deck with space for 76 chaise lounges, 40 chairs and two cabanas. Dining options will include a 24-hour restaurant, a steak house and a fast service and carryout cafe. The property will feature an indoor event space, which can be configured for banquets or bingo with 400 seats or for performances with 900 seats.

An eight-lane bowling alley – a first for any Seminole Gaming property – will include 32 seats for dining or events. An additional outdoor entertainment venue and stage will accommodate 3,000 guests for concerts, comedy shows and other performances.

“I saw Hollywood and Immokalee get casinos and now it’s Brighton’s turn. This will create a lot of opportunity for our young people,” said Hollywood Councilman Chris Osceola. “The TCD (Tribal Career Development for tribal members) program will be right here in your own backyard. Learn this; this is your business.”