Tunica Wants to Remove Casino ‘Riverboat’ Requirement to Salvage Regional Tourism
Posted on: November 14, 2017, 04:00h.
Last updated on: November 14, 2017, 04:32h.
Tunica casinos continue to struggle along the Mississippi River in the northwestern part of the state. The former Bally’s Hotel was recently demolished, and Harrah’s has sat vacant since 2014. Today, nine riverboat casinos remain, and they’re unanimously struggling for business.
Mississippi legalized riverboat casinos in 1990. At the time, commercial gambling was confined to only Nevada and Atlantic City. The authorization was dubbed the “Tunica Miracle,” as the industry created upwards of 14,000 jobs while making the mid-America swampland something of a tourist destination.
Fast-forward almost three decades, and Tunica casinos are begging for patrons.
“When we opened you could gamble in Nevada and Atlantic City and those were the only two places. People from mid-America flocked here. Today, every American is in a two-and-a-half-hour drive to a casino,” Tunica Convention and Visitors Bureau President Webster Franklin told WREG Memphis recently.
In 2017, Tunica casinos are reporting gambling revenues that are about half of their all-time highs, and that has subsequently led to a great reduction in the workforce. The Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association reports that Tunica casinos employed 5,037 workers in 2016.
Gross gaming revenue for Tunica casinos totaled $630 million last year, a more than two percent drop on 2015’s total take of $644 million, and a loss of over eight percent compared to 2014.
In 2000, Tunica’s gaming floors generated more than $1.5 billion in gross revenue. And since it dodged Hurricane Katrina’s devastation unlike Biloxi, the locale actually benefited from the storm, seeing revenues climb in the year after the 2005 storm to $1.7 billion.
Precarious Waters
Tunica casinos aren’t actually in Tunica proper, a small town with a population of about 1,000 residents. The riverboats are roughly 10 miles north in Robinsonville, along the mighty Mississippi. The area is commonly referred to as the “Tunica Strip.”
While visitation and revenues are down, Tunica officials have a rather odd solution. They believe state lawmakers need to ease restrictions on riverboat gambling and allow the casinos to move further inland.
The water requirement proved disastrous in 2011 when Tunica was flooded and casinos were forced to close for weeks. Flooding fears are what county officials believe are holding back new developments.
“If we could let the existing properties reinvest on land here in Tunica County and make this a more modern-day casino strip, I think we’d be more competitive in the long term,” Franklin opined.
Tunica could indeed use some draws other than slot machines and table games. Aside from gambling, the town is rather devoid of attractions, unless an RV park, indoor pool, or gift shop is something you fancy.
Inland Renaissance?
MGM’s Gold Strike Casino is the only resort with space capable of welcoming a a notable entertainment headliner. But its 800-seat Millennium Theatre has just three upcoming shows booked through January 2018. The lineup consists of the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Celebration, Gin Blossoms, and comedian Bill Engvall.
Pennsylvania-based Penn National, however, certainly isn’t ready to fold on Tunica. The gaming company further bought into the market in May when it purchased the operating rights to Resorts and Bally’s for $44 million, with the Bally’s being renamed to 1st Jackpot Casino.
Penn National first entered the Tunica market when it acquired the Hollywood Casino Corporation in 2003, and since then have been committed to the area’s success.
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Last Comments ( 6 )
I came to Tunica on vacation from Florida when Harrahs, Roadhouse, & Resorts were operating. Suggest that the rest of you, Hollywood, Sams Town, Fitz, Goldstrike, Horseshoe get the message. You can only send gamblers home broke for only so long and when they have had enough you all will suffer the same fate. Loose the payouts on your slot machines unless you really do want to end up like the 3 already closed casino's. There is gambling everywhere from New York City to Florida now and people do not need to come to Tunica to lose money, so get smart and begin to give the slot players an even break. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Arkansas will bury you if you continue to follow the same policy of the house always wins. I also go to Southland while staying in Tunica and it is night and day from what you are offering as payouts there.
The stats on casino revenues are in now, and they do not benefit the local economies that much, especially in rural places like Oklahoma and Tunica. The damage they do to families and lives wrecked is never published anywhere. A famous story about Meyer Lansky who ran casinos for the mob in Florida in the 50's. He paid the local people NOT to come to the casino. They weren't allowed in. He knew that when they started losing money, the people would turn against gambling and drive the casinos out. The reality is the industry is over-built and over-leveraged and there will be some consolidation, even in Vegas.
You need more attractions. Most families travel together and the kids need something to do. Rides, something like Dollywood. And yes get them off the water. More concerts and comedy shows. Go to Vegas. Check out the layout.
The decline of the casinos in Tunica is attributable to a very complex and deeply penetrating set of concerns. Lack of vision and clinging to a one-track focus are major contributors to the problem. While I certainly am by no means an expert on big ticket investment dollars, just a little bit of an interest in the overall economic state of affairs in the Mississippi delta could go a long ways in revitalizing this vast economic wasteland which in turn could have a simultaneous impact on the salvation of the casinos as well. From the beginning, the casinos did not significantly benefit the people of the delta that were lucky enough to get the near minimum wage jobs the casinos had to offer. Moreover, the management did not bother to contract with or hire business from the area that could have made first class employees from among the locals which in turn would have attracted and sustained more cosmopolitan and global casino patrons. What customer wants to be greeted by a hospitality clerk whose etiquette skills are seriously deficient when he or she can go anywhere in the world. Secondly, no real efforts went into building wealth among the residents, therefore no gains or support for the casinos could be gleaned from a thriving local infrastructure. All around the casinos, small farmers, largely African American, were loosing their land at incredible rates. No attempts were made to invest into specialty crops, for example, that could have boosted the economy in the area, and at the same time contributed to the wealth of casino investors. Beyond minimum wage jobs, no attempts were made to promote economic viability in one of the poorest regions in the country while wealth abounded among the casino owners. Thirdly, around 20044 to 2005, the casinos in Tunica stopped letting patrons win. They started out with a bang and degenerated to a bust. Whether or not the decline in patrons winning was due to a slow down in the country's economy is not known, but despite the reason, poor to moderate cannot afford to put money on the table and never win anything in return. But it's not too late. If Tunica casino owners were to consider looking at spreading their interests beyond their own personal wealth, there could be a win-win situation for everyone. I could go on and on with my commentary, but I won't. I do hope, however, that some concessions can be made towards revitalization f these beautiful edifices. The people of the delta need all the help they can get. CBB
The flood have nothing to do with the casino drop in business and moveing inland would not matter.The problem is Tunica officials did make good on their promise to biuld and bring more attractions to the county like was promise. They was to busy stealing the money and building up other places like South Heaven Ms. And the population of a 1000 is wrong. There's way over a 1000 people in each neighborhood in Tunica. It's so corrupt in the place you would be surprised.They are so currupt the officials keeps Walmart so they can drain the money out the residents by keeping businesses did they invested in.No how wrong is that.If you think I'm lying go check and you see everything I say is true.
I understand that this is basically a re-write from a story run on a Memphis news station this past week but I wish you would have reached out to learn a little more about the area. The Millennium Theater at Gold Strike is not the only venue "capable of welcoming a notable headline entertainer". The destination has several venues to include Bluesville at the Horseshoe and the River Palace Arena at Sam's Town along with venues at Hollywood Casino, Resorts Casino and the Fitz. Willie Nelson, the Gin Blossoms, Gladys Knight, The Isley Brothers, Phillip Phillips, Blackberry Smoke, Blues Traveler are all scheduled to play in Tunica in the coming weeks. Follow these links for our venues and our entertainment. https://www.tunicatravel.com/tunica-entertainment/event-venues https://www.tunicatravel.com/tunica-entertainment#/gallery/popular I invite you and your readers to come visit us in Tunica and experience our area first hand. Check us out at www.tunicatravel.com