Mississippi Market On The Rebound

This past weekend was widely considered a major test for the long-term viability of the Mississippi gaming market and accounts on the scene report the casinos were bustling with activity. Places such as the newly reopened Beau Rivage and Grand Biloxi did brisk business. Eight casinos are now open along the Gulf Coast with more on the way.

As additional properties come on line, experts predict the clustering phenomenon to be in full effect. What that means is the more casinos that enter a single market, the more that area becomes the choice destination by the consumer to visit.

At the Innovation Group, a company that provides casino feasibility studies to developers, partner Paul Girvan sees more depth to the Mississippi casino market.

"My impression is that this market is going to come back fairly rapidly," Girvan told the Associated Press. "Obviously moving forward, we've got a lot of huge developments coming in, which have the potential to push this market up to the $2 billion level by the end of this decade."

That’s about a 60 percent increase from current levels. The month before Katrina, Gulf Coast casinos generated $108,113,648.22 in income according to documents obtained by onlinecasinocrawler.com from the Mississippi State Tax. In July of this year, Gulf Coast casinos generated $74,362,392.25 in cash, a precipitous drop from the previous year. Statewide, which includes the northern Mississippi region of Tunica has been gaining revenue year over year.
In 2005, Tunica casinos brought in $1,582,318,835.86 while in the first seven months of the year generated $1,010,394,194.40.

The major reason for the predicted market change is a fundamental change in the rules in where gambling can physically take place in the state. Previously all gambling had to take place on riverboats or specially constructed barges. To prevent a reoccurrence of the damage that took place last year, legislators changed the law to permit gaming on dry land. opening the door to the creation of resorts that are more Las Vegas in style and substance.

Recently the market saw the reopening of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino opened Aug. 29 and the resort will open a new golf course next fall. It opened with new restaurants, stores and refurbished guestrooms. Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis also reopened as the Hollywood Casino on August 31.

Biloxi Grand reopened, August 17 at the surviving BayView Hotel, but a huge $1 billion resort is being designed. All of the casino's shoreline property is being demolished in preparation for the much larger resort, details of which are expected to be announced in November.



Originally set to open days after Hurricane Katrina, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino was mostly destroyed and is now being rebuilt. Plans are to open on July 4, 2007.Silver Slipper is a brand new casino operation that is under construction in Waveland near Bay St. Louis. The casino plans to be open this fall.

Bacaran Bay Casino Resort - $500 million project, owned and operated by Torguson Gaming Group, with anticipated completion date in the fall of 2008. This will be a 638 room all suite hotel and include 432 one and two bedroom condominiums, an Arnold Palmer signature 18-hole championship golf course; 40 lane bowling alley and six movie theaters.

The Broadwater is a proposed $1 billion which would have two casinos, 3,375 condo units, 1,900 hotel rooms, 180 acre 18 hole golf course, 585,000 sq ft retail entertainment space, 125,000 sq ft gaming floor, 104,000 sq ft convention space, and a marina. Work is currently underway to clear the site.

Golden Nugget –Landrys, the operator of the Golden Nugget brand, has purchased land in the Point Cadet area of Biloxi for this resort, while Isle of Capri  recently announced plans to develop a $250 million to $300 million development in with a minimum of 500 rooms.
Trump Properties – A joint venture between Trump and Diamondhead Casino Corporation would cover a minimum of 40 acres on the north shore of the Bay of St. Louis near Diamondhead. Diamondhead Casino Corp. owns over 400 acres of land near Diamondhead.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission has also approved a site for a casino in D'Iberville. West D'Iberville Development LLC requested approval of a site that is west of the I-110 bridge and on the Back Bay of Biloxi. D'Iberville currently doesn't have a casino.

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