| 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.
A ghost town could once again be a thriving center for jobs and entertainment if plans proceed to re-open the Harrah’s Casino Tunica, formerly known as the Grand Casino Tunica. It is a 2,200-acre property that once housed three hotels, several restaurants, a 2,500-seat event center, a RV park, a convention center, and a spa and salon.
History[edit]
- Gambling Control Act was passed and it open doors for not only Miss. Residents and Choctaw Indians. “ One thing that the state leaders were aware of, was that there were a lot of mixed feelings about gambling in the state,” Royal Walker Jr., Executive Director of Miss. Gambling Commission said.
- Casino at Harrah's, Tunica: Address, Phone Number, Casino at Harrah's Reviews: 3.5/5. 13615 Old Highway 61 N, Tunica, MS. First let me say.
- (WJTV) – The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) ordered the 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast Casinos to close ahead of Hurricane Sally. According to the commission, the casinos must be.
Grand Casino Tunica (1996-2007)[edit]
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]
When Did The First Casino Open In Tunica Ms Casinos
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.
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
By Becky Gillette • Photography by Austin Britt
A ghost town could once again be a thriving center for jobs and entertainment if plans proceed to re-open the Harrah’s Casino Tunica, formerly known as the Grand Casino Tunica. It is a 2,200-acre property that once housed three hotels, several restaurants, a 2,500-seat event center, a RV park, a convention center, and a spa and salon.
Citing decreasing business, Harrah’s Casino Tunica and its related amenities closed in June 2014, and the casino was demolished.Later, the property was purchased for back property taxes by a Clearwater, Fl., company named TJM Properties. TJM currently has plans to sell the property to the Tunica Hospitality Group, which hopes to reopen the facility.
When Did The First Casino Open In Tunica Ms Casino
“Everything is going forward,” says Tunica County Board Attorney John Keith Perry, Jr.“There has been a petition filed by TJM in Tunica County Chancery Court to clarify action taken by the Tunica County Board of Supervisors that voided the tax sale on the property. The petition asks if the Board’s actions in voiding the tax sale on that property was legal.”
The property was abandoned by Harrah’s when it went into bankruptcy. The property was later purchased for taxes by TJM.Perry said TJM was unaware that separate payments on infrastructure bonds for the property were also due.
“Whenever TJM bought property, their understanding was that they only had to pay ad valorem taxes and weren’t aware of the separate special assessment,” Perry says.“After finding out special assessments were made, the purchasers paid ad valorem taxes and the special assessment. There was some misunderstanding between the Tax Assessor’s office and TJM.TJM’s understanding was that they had to pay all the bills at one time.”
Perry says the Tunica County Board of Supervisors felt it would be less than fair for TJM to lose the property because of some miscommunication about how and where the special assessment fees for the Diamond Lake Utility District should be paid, so the Board set aside the particular tax sale in that instance.
“The TJM petition says if voiding of the tax sale is not proper, they would like to have 30 days to make this special assessment payment,” Perry says. “They want to make sure their rights are protected.We responded to the pleading and are waiting to see how the court interprets it.”
Perry says in the process of investigating purchasing the property, the Tunica Hospitality Group learned that the area could be in what is construed as an urban renewal zone. FEMA declared the area an urban renewal zone due to Mississippi River flooding in 2016. The property qualified even though it had been abandoned since 2014.
“The Tunica Hospitality Group came to the Board in 2017 with a plan to finance reopening the property through urban renewal bonds.” Perry says.“There would be a lot of benefits to the county having that property out there opened up again. There are hotels, restaurants, golf courses, a trap shooting property, and a lot of other nice things out there on those 2,200 acres. The longer the property sits, its value depreciates as it is just sitting there collecting mold. With this project, the idea is to reinvigorate the property to revitalize it.”
Plans call for adding amenities like a water park and amphitheater.
Perry said the Tunica County Board of Supervisors has expressed a belief in what the Tunica Hospitality Group is trying to do.
“The Board has an interest in the reopening of a facility that could provide jobs for the citizens of the county,” Perry says. “Likewise, the Board wants the economic development of that area. The casino industry has experienced some positive moves this year including the addition of sports gambling, and those types of things seem to be increasing traffic at Tunica County casinos. We believe the Tunica Hospitability Group has a plan in place that can help develop the county further as a destination for tourists and for the weekend gambler, the vacationing gambler, or the vacationing family.”
Perry is hopeful the deal goes through because he thinks it will be good for all parties.
“The Tunica County Supervisors and the Tunica County Administrator have done a tremendous job to do whatever it takes to develop the county economically,” Perry says.“There have been a lot of efforts in that regards as it relates to the Harrah’s project.”