Though he doesn't have a drop of Seminole blood in his veins, Allen may well be the single best champion of indigenous peoples since Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934, which sought to conserve and develop tribal lands and culture.

'Some people talk about it, some people make excuses, some people get it done. 'I'm serious as a heart attack,' says Allen, who's actually had two heart attacks and bypass surgery in the past three years and still routinely pulls 16-hour days. He explains that his late arrival that morning was due to a spot check of the men's bathroom, after which he was asked to look into an employee squabble that took him out to the parking lot. Allen shrugs this off and brags that he's behind every design detail down to the 'admit one' tickets on each new roll of toilet paper in the rooms. Walking through the hotel, one employee points out a large black octopus chair in the lobby bar and jokes he can't believe Jim wanted that there.

What's immediately clear when you meet Allen is that he's unapologetically hands-on. The hard-charging 56-year-old has helped create unimaginable riches for the 4,100-person Seminole Tribe of Florida as chairman of Hard Rock International and chief executive of the tribe's gambling operations.

'At first the tribe thought maybe I had lost my mind and gone crazy,' Allen says.Ĭrazy like a fox. With a reporter in tow, he is recounting how a Native American tribe managed to beat out 72 bidders, including private equity giants and multinational hospitality companies, to acquire the rock 'n' roll restaurant, hotel and casino company a decade ago under his direction. leaving voice mails for himself at the office and is now weaving through the flashing slot machines and blackjack tables on the floor of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

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