A quarter century before the debut of the glitzy Seminole Hard Rock Casino, and not far away as the crow flies but light-years distant from today's Las Vegas-style casinos, the Seminole Casino Hollywood in 1979 opened as the first high-stakes Indian gaming operation in the country.

Housed in a building that closely resembles the warehouses found in many industrial parks in Florida, the Seminole Casino Hollywood is just a half mile down the street from the glitzy Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

Notwithstanding its industrial ambiance, the Seminole Casino Hollywood's 73,000-square foot facility has 850 gaming machines. Like the other five Seminole casinos in Florida, it cannot offer real slots, or games like blackjack, roulette and craps -- all of which fall into the category of Class III gaming. The gaming machines are actually class II video devices that look like slot machines, but are actually bingo games and the spinning reels are for "entertainment purposes only."

The poker area now has 48 tables, providing round-the-clock action with progressive royal jackpots.

Poker tournaments are held on Thursdays. There are daily mini-tournaments in 7 card stud, Texas Hold-em and Omaha Hi-lo and various other games. Bingo also is still a very big attraction.

While the Seminole Hollywood Casino would not soon be mistaken for either of the Seminole Hard Rock casinos, or even for the renovated Seminole casino in Coconut Creek, this gaming operation is still going strong, and is located at 4150 North State Road 7, Hollywood, Florida.