Chad Hayden and Matt Chimato, Audio Visual Technicians for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa (SHRT) received the top prize, $2,000 cash for their creative rendition of the Black Keys’ “Lonely Boys” in which they played the guitar, drums and displayed a tightly edited dance video they produced. The rock band duo won first place in a property-wide talent competition held in the Hard Rock Cafe on June 23.
Their inspired spin on the Black Keys’ song had the judges and audience jammin’ along. Not only did their musical talent impress the crowd, but the two created a music video that was played on televisions throughout the Hard Rock Cafe during their performance. The video was made up of SHRT employees who were dancing in sync outside of the employee dining room.
SHRT holds a talent show each year and it offers employees a chance to win cash prizes. In addition, Chad and Matt will head to our sister property, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in August to compete in Seminole Superstar, a company-wide contest that guarantees $5,000 to the first place winner of that contest plus the ability to perform at Hard Rock Live in front of thousands of Seminole Gaming employees.
The performances were judged by local celebrities, radio host Orlando Davis from Wild 94.1, Phoebe Kushner and Jayde Donovan from Hot 101.5 and emcee Greg Wolf, Promotions Director for 95.7 The Beat, 620 WDAE and 970 WFLA.
The first place winners weren’t the only employees to receive a generous payout.
- First Place: $2,000
- Second Place: $1,000
- Third Place: $750
- Fourth Place: $500
- Fifth Place: $250
Each employee showed that they had talents beyond their primary duties at SHRT, but Chad and Matt won over both the crowd and the judges in a way that will lead them to the ultimate championship in Hollywood next month!
