Isle of Capri Mississippi Plans
Isle of Capri revisiting plans for Miss. properties
The Isle of Capri is reevaluating its expansion plans in Biloxi and for its proposed Pine Hills Casino in western Harrison County, said chief operating officer Virginia McDowell.
McDowell said Friday that the company is beginning to develop new master plans for the land it owns in Biloxi and for Pine Hills, just off Interstate 10 in Harrison County.
“We want to develop and implement a master plan for the company’s Biloxi property,” McDowell said, “which will help ensure that our product will remain competitive in the market.”
McDowell said it isn’t the cost of insurance but the competitive landscape and new management in Biloxi that prompted the Isle to review the expansion plans. Much of the $435 million the company plans to spend on capital projects for the fiscal year is tied to rebuilding the Biloxi casino and moving forward with the West Harrison project, she said.
Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. reported a 1.7 percent increase in net revenues Thursday, to $278.5 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year, from $274 million for the same period last year.
Last month, McDowell succeeded Timothy Hinkley as COO, She said she has visited each of the Isle properties in the U.S. She came to the company’s first casino, the Isle of Capri Biloxi, for its 15th anniversary celebration in August.
The company’s three Mississippi casinos earned 20.1 percent of its net revenue in the first fiscal quarter, which was down from 24.3 percent in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
Bob Griffin, senior vice president of operations, said the Isle is having to spend more in the aggressive Biloxi market to advertise the casino, which is temporarily at the end of a cul-de-sac on U.S. Highway 90. He said that expense could change once the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge reopens.
Source: AP