Although 5 million fewer people have visited Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos in the last two years, new construction and renovation continues.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held July 15 for the Scarlet Pearl Resort, the first casino in D’Iberville, Mississippi. Chief Executive Officer George Toth said the $250 million development, including a 60,000 square foot casino and 300-room hotel tower will open in early 2016.
Casino owners missed an earlier financial deadline but the Mississippi Gaming Commission voted on June 26 to approve the start of construction.
D’Iberville Mayor Rusty Quave said the city is looking forward to tax revenue and 1,500 permanent jobs.
Scarlet Pearl will be the 13th casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the first to open since Biloxi’s $62 million Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant in 2012.
In addition, the hotel tower at the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, will open next spring following a $58 million restoration, said Cathy Beeding Mackenzie, vice president and general counsel at Island View. The hotel will offer 400 rooms, 56 suites and a swimming pool overlooking the beach.
Mackenzie noted Island View owners, partners Rick Carter and Terry Green, have invested more than $300 million in the property since 2007.
