Casino executives are pretty encouraged by the number of holiday visitors they’ve seen at their slot machines.
For most of the weekend, business at Biloxi’s five casinos was brisk. It slowed down just a bit Tuesday as gamblers checked out of hotels, and either headed home, or to family celebrations.
Palace Casino General Manager Keith Crosby said the Fourth of July proved the casinos have an important role in south Mississippi’s hurricane recovery efforts.
“Well, you know, it’s encouraging. It’s another holiday where we can recognize the fact that we’ve recovered, things are back to normal. The guests who are here are people we see year in and year out,” Crosby said. “Recently, we saw Boomtown open. And the good news was there was some growth in the market.”
Five more casinos are scheduled to open between mid August and October.
Ten casinos are expected to be back in business on the Mississippi Gulf Coast by this fall, according to the executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
“Come September or October we’ll be about at the level where we were before Hurricane Katrina,” said Larry Gregory, executive director of the Gaming Commission.
Before the Aug. 29 storm crashed ashore, 12 casinos on the Gulf Coast employed 15,000 people, he said. Employment is expected to be at 13,000 when 10 casinos are open, he said.
Already open are IP, Isle of Capri, New Palace, Treasure Bay and Boomtown, all in Biloxi.
Grand Casino Biloxi is slated to reopen in mid-August; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Aug. 29; Island View in Gulfport, September; Hollywood (former Casino Magic) in Bay St. Louis, mid-September; and Silver Slipper in Waveland in October.
Not returning to the market are Casino Magic in Biloxi and Copa Casino in Gulfport.
Harrah’s Entertainment plans to take over what’s left of Casino Magic in Biloxi and incorporate the property in plans for Grand Casino Biloxi. The business partners who operated Copa Casino purchased Grand Casino Gulfport and are opening it as the Island View.
Dan McDaniel, a Jackson gaming lawyer, said one thing is for certain: All the casinos will be better than what was there before Katrina. “Every single one,” he said.
McDaniel credits two things with giving the gaming industry incentive to rebuild.
“The state has a fair tax rate, and that tax rate is an incentive for more development,” he said. “That’s always going to drive development.”
Also, allowing casinos to move a short distance from the shore made a difference, he said.
“If that law had been in effect when gaming first started, there wouldn’t be one casino on the south side of Highway 90,” he said.
Source: Clarion Ledger
Analysts and industry figures suggest the planned $5 billion of investments to rebuild Mississippi’s coastal casino resorts will again relegate Louisiana’s gambling outlets to second-class status.
Some picture the Mississippi coast, already one of the nation’s top gambling markets before Katrina, ranking behind only Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., in terms of prestige, size and the number of gamblers within a few years.
Nationally, gambling has picked up after a period of slow growth following the 911 terrorist attacks that sharply cut travel. According to the American Gaming Association, state-licensed casinos won $30.3 billion in 2005, up from $28.9 billion in 2004, $27 billion in 2003 and $26.5 billion in 2002.
“The Mississippi Gulf Coast will emerge as the third-best gaming market,” Danna said. “The amount of capital being spent there makes that market comparable with the best markets.”
Already, despite catastrophic damage from Katrina, business in Mississippi has made a stunning rebound.
The three coastal casinos that have reopened since Katrina grossed a total of $246.6 million from January through April, according to the Mississippi Gaming Commission. That’s more than half of what 12 coastal casinos took in during the same period of 2005.
“It’s really amazing,” said Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway. “A lot of people say this is FEMA money and insurance money, but I don’t believe that. We’re getting a lot of people from out of town coming here. The casinos tell me their base is coming back.”
Reaction to destruction of the two states’ gambling industries was a huge contrast and, perhaps, a telling sign why many predict profitable days ahead for the Magnolia State.
Within weeks after Katrina, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour got the Legislature to allow casinos on shore. Until now, they’ve rested on barges moored along the beach, though hotels and other amenities were built ashore.
In Louisiana, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin’s idea of opening up the city’s downtown area to more casinos went nowhere. Gov. Kathleen Blanco has opposed any gambling expansion.
Andy Holtmann, editor of Casino Journal, a Las Vegas-based trade publication, said if New Orleans wished to challenge the Gulf Coast head-on for gambling tourists, it may have missed its chance.
“Unless everyone shifted gears right now and said ‘Let’s open up New Orleans to casinos,’ it probably would be difficult to compete,” Holtmann said.
Source: APÂ
