The Seminole tribe has about 3,000 members and employs 7,000 workers in its gaming unit. 'This was a step into the real world to play with the big boys,' said Allen, who proposed the acquisition to Seminole members. The president of the tribe's gaming operations, Jim Allen, said it beat out some 70 bidders for the Hard Rock franchise. Today with the acquisition of the Hard Rock cafes we're going to buy Manhattan back one hamburger at a time,' Max Osceola, Seminole Tribe representative, said at a press conference at Manhattan's Times Square Hard Rock Cafe location. 'Our ancestors sold Manhattan for trinkets. NEW YORK (CNN) - In a cash deal valued at $965 million the Seminole Tribe of Florida purchased the Hard Rock cafe, hotel and casino business in a first-of-its-kind deal between the Native American tribe and Hard Rock's foreign parent company, both parties announced Thursday.
