Hard Rock Cafe International President and CEO Hamish Dodds, left, presents Seminole Indian tribal leaders Andrew Bowers Jr. and Max. B Osceola Jr. with a Hank Willilams Sr. guitar during a news conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, in New York, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006, after the tribe announced it had acquired Hard Rock International. The tribe purchased Hard Rock International in a $965 million deal. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Respected Seminole Tribal leader Max Osceola, Jr. walked on October 8th due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 70, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Osceola was instrumental in many Seminole Tribal council and business decisions — most notably the 2006 acquisition of Hard Rock International in a $965 million deal.The Seminole Tribe was the first U.S.-based Tribe to enter into the gaming business in 1979, and the purchase of Hard Rock’s global casinos, restaurants, hotels, and its enormous collection of memorabilia from British company The Rank Group PLC made Seminole Gaming an overnight gaming empire. It also marked a milestone in Indian gaming, as the first time a Tribe acquired a major, international company.In a 2006 Associated Press article about the Seminole Tribe’s purchase of the Hard Rock brand, Osceola, who was Vice Chairman of the Tribe at the time, compared the sale to when the Dutch bought Manhattan from American Indians for mere “trinkets.”“We’re going to buy Manhattan back one hamburger at a time,” Osceola said. Osceola was elected to 13 consecutive two-year terms from 1985 to 2010 to serve on the Seminole Tribal Council representing the Hollywood Seminole Reservation.

“He served on the Seminole Tribal Council, the five-member elected governing body of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, during a time of major expansion of Seminole Gaming, which has grown to become one of the world’s most successful gaming operations,” according to a statement released by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

Seminole Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner told the Sun-Sentinel that Osceola “was absolutely focused on overseeing the development of the Seminole casinos.”Phil Hogen, the former chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, told MSN that he worked closely with Osceola during the Seminole Tribe’s impressive rise in the Tribal gaming world.“At light speed, they made the transition from doing alligator shows out of a shoe box to suddenly having mega-million bingo operations and before you knew it Class III casinos.” Hogen also told MSN that the rise was “not smooth all of the time.”The loss of Osceola leaves an empty space in the hearts of many. Chris Osceola, who is of no relation to Max, and the current Tribal council representative for the Hollywood Seminole Reservation, said in a statement that Max was “a modern-day warrior and a true legend among his people and many others around the world.”“He will forever be embedded in our hearts and the history of the Seminole Tribe,” Chris continued. “He was my friend and mentor and I will miss him dearly. It has been an honor to call him my friend. My sincere heartfelt condolences to his family and my sincere gratitude for sharing him with us.”Osceola’s family is asking those who wish to do so, to make a donation to the Max Osceola Memorial Scholarship Fund at the American Indian Graduate Center.