The Golden Nugget Casino Biloxi celebrated its grand opening over the weekend, complete with a ribbon-cutting, showgirls, a Forrest Gump look-alike, pool party and concert. Tilman Fertitta, owner and chairman of parent company Landry’s, stopped by to join in the festivities and to admire the results of his 0 million investment in the property.
Fertitta purchased the Isle Casino Biloxi for $45 million in 2012 and renovations began in early 2013. Melissa Radovich, vice president of marketing, said improvements include a new casino floor with more than 1,200 slots including 425 new games, 54 table games and a new high-limit room, “something that this property has needed for a long time,” Radovich said. The room has its own cage, bar and restrooms, and the VIP check-in now has a dedicated elevator to suites in the redesigned 720-room hotel.
New restaurants include: Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Lillie’s Asian Cuisine and Michael Patrick’s Sports Bar & Grill. The buffet also has had a complete makeover. The property also features the new H2O pool, retail promenade, new spa, ballroom and convention space. The parking garage now opens directly onto the casino floor.
Radovich noted the property’s open-concept design creates energy, with views from restaurants to the casino.
She added a highlight of the grand opening was relocating the world’s largest gold nugget, the Hand of Faith, from Las Vegas to its new display case in the Golden Nugget Biloxi lobby. The 61-pound “nugget” was discovered in Australia and sold to the Golden Nugget for more than $1 million.
“The Golden Nugget transformation is going to rejuvenate Biloxi, in the same way that we have helped revive downtown Las Vegas and the Marina District in Atlantic City,” Fertitta said.
Fertitta also owns casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. Landry’s restaurant in Biloxi was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Also in Biloxi, Dale Partners and the Cuningham Group have been named project architects for the Biloxi Boardwalk Hotel & Casino. Developer Chris Ferrara said, “They presented a sensitive balance between aesthetics and functional design that really impressed the entire team.”
General contractor on the project will be Yates Construction. The property will include a large casino, hotel, restaurants and bars, retail and convention space.
