The coast’s first casino dedicated its newest hotel addition Wednesday.
The Isle of Capri has come a long way from the pair of riverboats it brought to Biloxi some 13 years ago. And casino executives are already busy planning future expansions.
The casino resort adopted the term “Isle Style” to describe its Caribbean flavor customer service. Harrison County’s tourism director used the words “Isle Vision” to describe the casino resort’s latest multi million dollar addition.
An atmosphere of “island flair” filled Flamingo Bay ballroom as a smiling Bill Kilduff led the ribbon cutting crew.
“When we first came down here in 1992 we had two riverboats. And people said ‘Oh they’re the most beautiful things we’ve ever seen’. A year later, they said, ‘We don’t want to go on that boat, we want to go on barges’,” Kilduff said.
It’s a far cry from those riverboats. Visitors nodded their approval through a tour of luxury hotel rooms and smiled at the expanded pool deck and adjoining hot tub.
The $60 million hotel tower gives the Isle 750 hotel rooms on its Biloxi property.
“They had the vision to put their corporate headquarters here and grow the corporation from Biloxi,” said tourism director, Steve Richer.
This latest Isle expansion marks yet another wave of casino growth. Combined with condos, the coast economy is the biggest beneficiary.
“It’s good news for everybody. You got more jobs, more opportunity. And everybody benefits,” said Peoples Bank president, Chevis Swetman.
The Isle won’t remain idle after this latest expansion. The casino resort is moving in a much larger gaming barge later this year. Beyond that, there’s already a long range plan in the works to add even more hotel space.
“When we built our parking garage, we spent an additional $3 million on that structure so it will accommodate another hotel on top of that and we have master plans moving forward,” Kilduff said.
Isle executives are not content being simply the coast’s first casino; they plan on making certain it’s the leader in a growing market.
The new hotel tower adds 400 rooms and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. The Isle’s new three story gaming barge is now under construction on Back Bay. It will be moved into place in early December.
JUNE 27, 2005 — Biloxi, Miss. — Isle of Capri Casinos will celebrate this week the grand opening of its new hotel tower in this Mississippi Gulf Coast destination. The development is just the latest in an ongoing series of new hospitality infrastructure on the Mississippi Gulf Coast making it increasingly group friendly.
Tim Hinkley, the corporation’s president and chief operating officer, noted the Gulf Coast market will grow because of its beach location, good reputation and public sector investments. He also cited the recent approval to expand the Coliseum as a boon to the area.
Next up for the hotel is to replace its existing gambling barge with a casino double in size. The hotel expansion and the new casino are, collectively, a $170 million investment.
The Isle will celebrate the hotel’s opening on Wednesday, June 29, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and property tours for VIP guests. The company has invested almost $300 million in Biloxi since it opened the South’s first legal casino on Point Cadet in 1992.
Despite Isles of Capri’s recent developments, competition is heating up with two new casinos under construction and more proposed. Also, in Lake Charles, La., Pinnacle Entertainment recently opened the $365 million L’Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino.
Isle of Capri operates 15 casinos in 13 locations. In addition to its Biloxi property, the company owns and operates riverboat and dockside casinos in Vicksburg, Lula and Natchez, Miss.; Bossier City and Lake Charles (two riverboats), La.; Bettendorf, Davenport and Marquette, Iowa; and Kansas City and Boonville, Mo.
Source: Press Release
A group of homeowners and others who own small parcels of land between the Palace Casino and U.S. 90 are pooling their properties to lure another casino developer to Point Cadet.
But the biggest financial beneficiary could be the city of Biloxi. It owns the waterfront locations crucial for any casino development. One is the Point Cadet Plaza. The other is a parcel north of the plaza that the Isle of Capri leases for employee parking.
Mayor A.J. Holloway is working behind the scenes to make the deal a reality. One of the companies he’s courting is Ameristar Casinos, but others are also interested.
“I think it’s a fantastic location,” Holloway said.
Casino Row could be extended around the bend of Point Cadet, putting five or more gambling resorts within easy walking distance especially with the construction of a waterfront boardwalk.
No hearings have been held on the future use of the city-owned land, but the news is out about the proposal and so far there’s been no public outcry. Two important cultural centers, the Seafood Industry Museum and Slavonian Society lodge, are located there.
Members of the Slavonian Society, which is a private club, may decide to sell their property. I doubt, though, that the Seafood Museum will move.
The city should require any casino development to accommodate the needs of the museum, which is a great tourism attraction in its own right and an invaluable historical resource.
The loss of the Point Cadet Plaza, an old aircraft hangar, would displace several festivals and the farmers market. Biloxi residents and the people they elect will have to make some hard choices.
Some legal issues would also have to be resolved.
The Isle of Capri has the right of first refusal for a casino development on the property it leases for employee parking. Talks have begun.
“We’ve had a chance to speak with the mayor,” said Tim Hinkley, president and chief operating officer of Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. “That’s about all I can say on that.”
With the other city-owned parcel, the Point Cadet Plaza, Biloxi would have to get permission from the Secretary of Interior before converting it to commercial use. It might even take an act of Congress. The reason is deed restrictions.
In 1972 when the federal government gave the city the old Coast Guard property, it stipulated that the land “shall not be sold, leased, assigned or otherwise exposed of except to another governmental agency that the Secretary of the Interior agrees in writing can assure the continued use and maintenance of the property for a public park or public recreational purposes.”
With all these hurdles, why is Holloway pushing to make this deal a reality? After all, Biloxi already earns millions of dollars in taxes from casinos.
Rental income is a different matter.
Biloxi used to receive all the rental income from the Isle for another parcel of land south of U.S. 90 where the company’s casino and hotel are located. Not anymore. The city now splits the rent with the state College Board and the the state Tidelands Fund. In the future, as existing leases expire and are renegotiated, the city could end up with zilch.
Secretary of State Eric Clark claimed the 13 acres at the southeast tip of Point Cadet as state tidelands about three years ago to settle land use disputes between the city, the state university system and the Isle.
To put it in simple terms, the state took the city’s land.
Source: Sun Herald
