$98M take is casinos’ best-ever December
BILOXI – Revenues from Coast casinos set another record last month and were just shy of the $1 billion mark for the year.
The Mississippi State Tax Commission released gross gambling revenues Wednesday afternoon. Coast casinos took in $98.2 million last month, making it the best December ever. Statewide, it was also the best December ever with figures totaling $228.1 million.
Biloxi accounted for the lion’s share of the Coast’s earnings.
“A lot of people from across the country look at these numbers and when they look at them they’re seeing a great story,” said Mayor A.J. Holloway. “These numbers send a strong message about the strength of the gaming market here in Biloxi. But more than that, these figures are going to mean that we’ll be seeing more of the other amenities return – things like restaurants, tourist shops and the mom-and-pop hotels.”
The December figure for the Coast was up 15 percent over December 2004, when the total take was $85.5 million. Scott King, an adjunct professor with Tulane University who teaches a casino management course, said the numbers are even better when the number of slot machines and table games are figured in.
“Right now, supply is about two-thirds what it was (before Katrina),” King said. “Since that time, the market has been anywhere between 85 percent and 100 percent. Two of the last four months have been the best months ever, and Biloxi has set records every month.”
However, state cumulative figures of $2.57 billion for the year are still less than the $2.78 billion earned in 2004 and the $2.7 billion earned in 2003.
Coast casinos were about $90,000 below the $1 billion mark last year.
“What people are going to start to look for now is whether the market is going to grow on top of that,” King said.
Source: Tom Wilemon Sun Herald
BILOXI, Miss. — Grand Casino Biloxi is looking to trim its work force 80 employees by offering a severance package to volunteers.
Karen Sock, the casino’s general manager, said no one has been forcibly laid off.
“It is voluntary,” Sock said Wednesday. “So far we have had a number of people who are interested in taking the package. The voluntary severance package is 50 percent richer than if a person were to be indeed laid off.”
The packages are based on length of employment.
“This has nothing to do with employee performance,” Sock said. “They have performed in a wonderful way.”
Sock said the closing of the Biloxi Bay bridge, which links Biloxi to Ocean Springs and ultimately Alabama, has affected business for casinos.
“We’re now at the end of a cul de sac as opposed to being at a premium location,” she said. “We have every confidence in this market’s short-term and long-term growth. The business continues to grow. It just takes time for the market to get back.”
The bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Isle of Capri, the Beau Rivage and the IP are located in the same general area as the Grand.
In December, the Isle of Capri laid off about 200 employees due to a slowing seasonal business and the lingering effects caused by the U.S. 90 bridge being out.
Source: Sun HeraldÂÂ
Anyone have anymore information on this? Will they rent out rooms by the night like a hotel, or only for longer period of times? It says in the heart of the casino district, anyone know exact location? If I will find out anymore information, I will post.
The Avalon Suite Hotel, Biloxi, Miss. — The 160-unit condominium hotel is located in the heart of the action on the oceanfront and just blocks from the city’s casino district. Currently under construction, the property is scheduled to open in the 2008 first quarter. “This is our first condo-hotel, and discussions are under way pertaining to additional condo hotels in Florida and Nevada in 2007,” he said.
