“We’re going to buy Manhattan back one hamburger at a time,” – Seminole Tribe of Florida To Buy Hard Rock
posted by Deven Desai
Just a quick note. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is in the process of buying a major piece of the Hard Rock empire for $965 million from Rank Group PLC. The quote in the headline for this post is from tribe Vice Chairman Max Osceola (note: The Seminole Tribe was not the tribe who sold the island). The purchase “includes 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues and stakes in three unbranded hotels.” Curiously although the Seminole Tribe was the first tribe in the U.S. to enter the gambling industry (it started a bingo hall in 1979) and operates two Hard Rock casinos in Florida, the deal does not include the Hard Rock casinos in London or Las Vegas as those were already sold to others prior to this deal. As someone who teaches trademark, this set of affairs promises to foster at least one or two good problems or essay questions for my next class.
Regarding Mr. Osceola’s remarks about buying back Manhattan and comparing the sale of Manhattan to the Dutch to the current deal, the article reports that the Seminole Tribe has 3,300 members who benefit from the Tribe’s gaming activities. My guess is they are doing rather well. In addition, the article states, “U.S. tribes now have more than $22 billion in annual revenues from gambling, according to government figures.” Given that the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan, was sold for $5.4 billion recently the Seminole tribe has some progress to make before it could do the buyback but then again I wonder if anyone thought they’d be this close either.
December 8, 2006 at 12:12 am
Posted in: Corporate Law
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