Harrah’s GM has strong ties to Coast
PASCAGOULA - A New Orleans casino executive who also is a Pascagoula native believes his industry is just one of the many participants helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast.
“Pascagoula was just a great place to grow up,” said Jim Hoskins, general manager of Harrah’s New Orleans Casino. “It has great people and great family values.”
When Hoskins was growing up, the people living along the Gulf Coast could never have imagined the casino industry being here, he said. Some of the biggest industries at the time were shipbuilding, oil, and shrimping.
Since Jan. 1, Hoskins, 41, has worked at Harrah’s, which boasts 2,400 employees, 450 rooms and 98 suites. Reopened in February, the resort now employs more people than it did before Hurricane Katrina.
“New Orleans has always been a destination city,” Hoskins said. “People come here for the weather, to experience the French Quarter, the food, the zoo, and the aquarium. Harrah’s is just one more attraction while they are here.”
The road from Pascagoula to New Orleans has been an exciting one for Hoskins and his family. After college, he became a certified public accountant. One of the accounting firm’s clients was a casino. He eventually left the CPA firm to work at the casino.
In the early and middle 1990s, he worked for the Grand Casino in Gulfport. Then he helped open the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. He went back to the Grand Casino and then was transferred to Las Vegas, where he was the senior vice president and chief financial officer for Caesars Palace.
“That was very exciting,” Hoskins said. “The industry and the city were booming. I enjoyed the work, the people, the mountains and the weather. It was a very adventurous experience.”
After two years in Las Vegas, the opportunity to come back to the Gulf Coast presented itself.
“My wife, Michele, is from Moss Point. My father is retired from Chevron. It was an opportunity to come home. We enjoy the people, the food, the water and the fishing here.”
Management changes at Harrah’s have occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Hoskins was offered the general manager position.
“There are very few differences between the casinos in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Hoskins said. “There are more similarities than differences. We are all facing the same struggles. Our biggest challenge is to rebuild our lives here, not just the industry. And that is happening. People will continue to come here for the same reasons that they did before: the scenic beaches, the friendly people, the great food. The casino industry is just one of the tools that will be used for this rebuilding.”
Hoskins said he and his family return to Jackson County as often as they can, which is about once a month, to visit family and friends.
So what does a man whose business is to entertain others do for recreation?
“I go fishing with friends,” said Hoskins. “That is what I like to do the most.”
Source: Sun HeraldÂÂ