Harrah Casino Tunica Ms Closing
Harrah's Casino in Tunica shut its doors in 2014, and now it's being demolished. High rollers in Tunica, Mississippi have one less casino to choose from. The long decline of what was once the nation's third-largest casino market was underlined Wednesday when the largest casino in Mississippi's Tunica County announced it would close.
| Harrah's Casino Tunica | |
|---|---|
| Location | Tunica Resorts, Mississippi |
| Address | 13615 Old Highway 61 N |
| Opening date | 1996 |
| Closing date | June 2, 2014 |
| Theme | Mardi Gras |
| No. of rooms | 1,356 |
| Total gaming space | 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) |
| Signature attractions | Bellissimo Spa & Salon |
| Notable restaurants | '37 Steakhouse, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, Paula Deen's Buffet |
| Casino type | Riverboat casino |
| Owner | Caesars Entertainment |
| Previous names | Grand Casino Tunica (1996–2007) |
Harrah's Casino Tunica, formerly Grand Casino Tunica, was a casino and resort located in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi. It was owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The casino offered a 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) casino and three hotels with a total of 1,356 rooms. There was also an RV park, the Bellissimo Spa & Salon, a convention center, The Willows sporting clays shotgun club, and a 2,500 seat entertainment venue called the Harrah's Event Center.
Citing steadily declining business rates in its last few years, Caesars announced the closure of Harrah's Casino Tunica, along with its hotels, golf course, and events center in March 2014.[1] The casino permanently closed on June 2, 2014 and was demolished in August 2015.[2] As of February 2017, the three hotel buildings remain standing, but have not operated since the resort's closure in 2014. The golf course and events center have also been abandoned.
History[edit]
Grand Casino Tunica (1996-2007)[edit]
Harrah's Casino Tunica Ms Closing Due
The casino itself was built in 1996. It was the largest casino between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, featuring a large poker room. The Harrah's Casino Hotel was directly connected to the casino and contained 148 rooms and 40 suites. Two additional hotels were situated along a lake approximately ½ mile away. Complimentary shuttle service ran 24 hours a day to take guests to and from the casino. The Veranda Resort Hotel, which opened in 1996 along with the casino, contained 532 rooms and 36 suites. The largest hotel was the Terrace Hotel & Spa, which opened in 1999 and contained 563 rooms and 37 suites.
Grand Casino Tunica's original owner was Grand Casinos, Inc., headed by Lyle Berman, a pioneer in developing resort-style casinos on Native American reservations and in Mississippi.
In 1998, Berman and Grand Casinos, Inc., sold their Tunica, and Biloxi, Mississippi resorts to the gaming division of Hilton Hotels, with the combined assets being spun off to create a new corporation called Park Place Entertainment (later renamed Caesars Entertainment).
In 2005, Caesars Entertainment was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment, which converted back to the Caesars Entertainment name in 2010. In the Tunica market, Caesars also operates Horseshoe Casino Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse Casino & Hotel (formerly Sheraton). The three properties share management and player marketing operations.
Harrah's Casino Tunica (2007-2014)[edit]
In October 2007, Harrah's officials announced that Grand Casino Tunica would undergo a $45 million renovation of its hotels and casinos, which included the resort being renamed Harrah's Casino Tunica.[3] In addition, the company announced that the new Harrah's would feature a new buffet bearing the name of Food Network celebrity chef Paula Deen. Paula Deen's Buffet was reported to be the first celebrity chef-branded buffet at an American casino.[4] It was rebranded in 2013 shortly after she was removed from the food network.[5]
A Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill owned by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Capri Restaurant Group Enterprises LLC opened in Harrah's in September 2010, replacing the former Replays bar and grill and Murano's Italian Restaurant.
Harrah's Casino Tunica Ms Closing Dates
Previous Harrah's Casinos in Tunica[edit]
This is the third casino in Tunica Resorts to bear the name Harrah's. The previous Harrah's Tunica was designed by Steelman Partners. The first was located just off Casino Strip Blvd., several miles south of the former Grand, and was the first casino to open in that area in 1993. In 1996, Harrah's acquired the shuttered Southern Belle Casino, approximately 500 yards (450 m) away from the first Harrah's. The company operated both casinos as Harrah's for a short time, calling the second property 'Harrah's Mardi Gras.' Eventually, Harrah's sold the original property to Isle of Capri Casinos, who operated it as 'Isle of Capri Tunica' for a short time before closing it.
With the sale of Caesars to Harrah's in 2004, the combined companies were forced to sell two properties to avoid owning five of the nine casinos in the Tunica market. Harrah's Mardi Gras was sold, along with Bally's Casino Tunica, to Colony Capital, and Harrah's Mardi Gras was renamed Resorts Casino Tunica.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^WREG.com: Harrah’s Tunica Casino To Close
- ^'Demolition begins at Harrah's Casino in Tunica'. WMC-TV. Memphis, Tennessee, USA. August 22, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^Harrahs.com: Harrah's Tunica Coming Soon
- ^Harrahs.com: Paula Deen's Buffet - Coming May 2008
- ^Tepper, Rachel (June 26, 2013). 'Paula Deen Dropped By Caesars Entertainment, Loses Four Casino Buffets'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
External links[edit]
Coordinates: 34°51′20″N90°17′40″W / 34.855613°N 90.294544°W
On Wednesday, Caesars Entertainment announced that it would close Harrah’s Casino in Tunica, Mississippi on June 2, citing a persistent decline in business and an increase in competition.
“After exploring every other viable alternative, we have come to the difficult but necessary conclusion to close Harrah’s Tunica in an effort to appropriately position our business for the current market opportunity and ensure the long-term viability of our remaining operations in the vicinity,” said John Payne, President of Central Markets and Partnership Development.
The company is actively shopping the casino but has not yet found any buyers. The 1,360-room resort was by far the largest of the three properties Caesars operates in Tunica. The other properties are the 510-room Horseshoe Casino Tunica and 130-room Tunica Roadhouse.
Harrah’s currently employs 1,300 people and although the company has vowed to try and reassign them, many will have to relocate or look elsewhere for jobs.
The casino features a World Series of Poker branded poker room, over 1,300 slot machines and 70 table games.
The Tunica gaming market has taken a significant hit over the last five years and gambling revenue is down more than 25 percent since 2008 from $1.1 billion to just $826 million. Overall, the state of Mississippi’s 30 casinos brought in $2.251 billion in 2012, the majority of which came from casinos located along the coast in Gulfport and Biloxi.