Richard J. Schilling Jr., known as "the father of Mississippi gaming," died on January 27 at his home in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 62.

Schilling started in the restaurant business as a dishwasher at age 13. He went on to own some of the most successful entertainment venues in the country, including the legendary Beverly Hills Supper Club near Cincinnati, and Splash, the first casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

The Beverly Hills Supper Club was one of the first Midwestern clubs to host stars like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. It opened in 1971 and was recognized for years as the "Showplace of the Nation," with a nightclub that seated 5,500 patrons.

Schilling also opened the first riverboat restaurant, the Islands, in Newport, Kentucky, which became the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.

In 1986 the Islands and its nightclub, Splash, were relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, and moved again in 1992 to Tunica, Mississippi, 29 miles south of Memphis.  

Though Schilling was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002, he continued to work. He designed, built and ran a $75 million casino resort called Harlow's in Greenville, Mississippi. He sold his controlling interest in the facility in early 2009.

By Staff