Saturday, July 21 will be the first day sports bets can be placed at one of Mississippi’s 28 casinos. The Mississippi Gaming Commission adopted the regulations for sports betting on June 21 and a 30-day waiting period followed. Beau Rivage is likely to be the first casino to offer a sports book, on June 21. Casinos owned by corporations that operate sports books in Las Vegas, like MGM, Caesars Entertainment and Golden Nugget, are expected follow soon after.
Beau Rivage President of Marketing Brandon Dardeau said, “Beau Rivage is on track to take wagers the day sports betting regulations go into effect. Construction has already begun on our provisional 7-window sports betting facility, which will be located outside the poker room. We have looked forward to offering sports wagering in Mississippi for many years.”
Beau Rivage, Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino, Scarlet Pearl Casino and Hard Rock Casino Biloxi all are running help wanted ads for sports book staff.
At the Golden Nugget Biloxi, General Manager Chett Harrison said, “We’ve been working on plans since probably early spring. We’ll be ready for football and in some form for the opening of sports betting.” Harrison said Michael Patrick’s sports bar will become the site of sports betting with the Vegas-style atmosphere, where guests can place wagers, dine and watch the games. “It’s going to be great, especially during football season, the Final Four and other big sporting events,” he said.
Hard Rock Biloxi General Manager Todd Raziano said, “We plan to be open by football season, just like everyone else.” He added management is considering various locations inside the casino to “create an experience for sports betters.”
General Manager Jonathan Jones at Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi said, “We are looking forward to capitalizing upon this new opportunity, and to debut this new and exciting feature at our resort and casino.” Jones said Harrah’s is designing a space for sports betting and noted the casino’s parent company, Caesars Entertainment, “has a fantastic infrastructure already in place for us to capitalize upon. We expect to give our guests the ability to wager on sports at Harrah’s beginning with the 2018 fall football season.”
At Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi, General Manager Keith Crosby said sports betting will be located at the Contact sports bar. He added finding equipment has been challenging. “Suddenly there’s a very large interest in a very limited amount of equipment,” he said. Still, he expects sports betting to be available by the start of football season. “I think that’s what everyone’s targeting,” he said, noting sports betting probably won’t be a big money-maker for casinos. “It’s a nice addition to what we offer but you couldn’t get a seat in Contact during football without sports betting,” Crosby stated.
Also in Biloxi, Treasure Bay will offer sports betting on the first floor of the casino, said General Manager Susan Varnes. She said the casino will work with one of the third-party providers going through the licensing process with the state gaming commission. She said people in the community, long known for illegal sports betting, are excited that it will become legal and regulated. “This will make it easy for them to bet with us,” she said.
In Gulfport, Island View owners Rick Carter and Terry Green said the newly opened Beach Casino has a sports betting area, with a sports wagering counter inside the north casino and betting kiosks at various locations. Green said customers also will be able to download an app on their smartphone or tablet to make bets, but only while on Island View property, in accordance with state regulations.
Scarlet Pearl Casino in D’Iberville was one of the first on the Coast to announce it will offer sports betting. Chief Executive Officer LuAnn Pappas said management was working on the possibility of sports betting even before the Supreme Court ruling. “The timing could not be better as we are currently under construction for two spectacular food and beverage venues as added amenities for our guests” in addition to the sports betting venue.
At the Silver Slipper Casino Hotel in Bay St. Louis, General Manager John Ferrucci said, “We are definitely going to offer sports betting, ” hopefully by September 1. “We have created an area on casino floor that has good visibility,” and a live counter and kiosks also are being planned, he said.
Also, 20 televisions on the casino floor will broadcast the games. Ferrucci added a third party vendor will be hired to oversee sports betting operations. He pointed out Silver Slipper’s parent company, Full House Resorts, works with William Hill at its Nevada property.
In general, Visit MS Gulf Coast Executive Director Milton Segarra said a new demographic of players is expected thanks to sports betting and the new smoke-free casino at Island View. “We are making the right moves as a destination to expand and to be appealing to more visitors, proving we are a very diverse and welcoming destination,” he said.
In May, Coast casinos posted revenue of $107 million compared to $104 million in May 2017. Coast casinos posted their highest April revenue in 2018 since the casinos opened in 1992. When sports betting begins in July, sports book gross revenue will be taxed at 12 percent and added to the monthly report by the Mississippi Department of Revenue and distributed to the state, county and local and school district accounts.
Officials in Tunica County, Mississippi anticipate sports betting and charter flights will help turn around the area’s economic challenges.
Tunica casinos expect to start offering sports betting before football season, following the Mississippi Gaming Commission’s recent approval of regulations that will take effect by the end of this month.
Tunica Convention and Visitors Bureau President Webster Franklin said, “It’s definitely a positive for the market. It’s a good opportunity to bring in a different demographic. Since the economy turned in ’08, and then we had the flood in 2011, the market has been hit hard.”
Mississippi casinos will pay a combined 12 percent in state and local taxes on sports wagers after payouts. Gaming commissioners will investigate and license all sports betting equipment before it goes online at casinos.
Additionally, the completion of I-269 is expected to boost tourism to Tunica, and so are flights by charter airline Ashley Air and Travel starting July 1 between the Tunica airport and Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina and Orlando and St. Petersburg, Florida. Ashley will make three round trips per week to each destination.
Tunica Airport Director Eric Konupa said the flights will help increase visitors and gambling in northwest Mississippi. He said Ashley could bring up to 30,000 passengers annually.
Konupa said the Tunica airport has not had a charter service for more than two years. In 2017, the airport had 9,800 passengers. Because it fell short of 10,000, it did not qualify for $1 million in state funding for improvements.
