Storm-hit Gulf Coast casinos may land elsewhere

Thursday, 12 Sep, 2005 0

Odds are good that the hard-hit Gulf Coast casinos in the future will have something in common with storm refugees: a new land-based home.

The state’s casinos by law now have to be on the water.

The floating casinos in Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs were among the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Of the 13 casinos on the coast, only the Beau Rivage in Biloxi remained relatively intact.

“If they were on land, they probably would have sustained the hurricane,” Allan Solomon, an executive of Capri Casinos Inc. told USAToday.

In the rebuilding to come, some state legislators have already announced that allowing the casinos to be land-based will be a critical issue.

“Whether the casinos will rebuild would most likely be the No. 1 issue. And whether or not to put them on land,” said Larry Gregory, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

Mississippi’s gaming industry trails only two other US areas, Nevada and Atlantic City. The Gulf Coast is a huge tourist draw that brings in revenues of about $500,000 a day, according to some estimates.

Mississippi’s 29 casinos, including the 13 along the coast, had revenues of $2.78 billion last year.

Casino owners say they expect insurance to cover rebuilding costs and losses from the storm.

But some of the casinos were severely enough damaged so that they probably won’t be repaired. Harrah’s properties in Gulfport and Biloxi were in that group.

Some casino operators such as Harrah’s are continuing to pay employees their entire salaries in the interim before new building begins.

Mississippi’s gaming laws permit dockside casinos on the coast and along the Mississippi River in counties where gambling is approved by referendum.

Any changes to the law will be months in the future, according to industry officials.

Report by David Wilkening

David

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