Mississippi legalized casinos in 1990, but restricted them to the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. Two years later, casinos rose in the Mississippi cotton fields in Tunica County. “When we opened you could gamble in Nevada and Atlantic City and those were the only two places. So people from Mid-America flocked here. Today every American is in a two and a half hour drive to a casino,” said Webster Franklin, president and chief executive officer of the.
The first riverboat casino, Splash, opened in 1992. As more casino were built, gambling revenue reached nearly $1.2 billion. More than two decades later, gambling revenue is about half of that amount. The Tunica casino industry’s decline is visible as casino parking lots are far from full, Harrah’s Casino resort is barricaded, the former Bally’s Hotel has been demolished and a nearby outlet mall has few customers.
At first, the “Tunica Miracle” created 14,000 jobs. “Today there are 7,800 people employed in the industry. It’s important to know most of those don’t live here in Tunica. They live in the metro area like Desoto County or Shelby County,” Franklin said.
Tunica County Supervisor James Dunn noted, “Things have not been as well as we’d like for them to be as far as the number of tourist dollars coming to the county. The tax dollars.”
Franklin said competition, the economy and Mississippi River flooding are to blame. Comparing the Tunica casino market to the successful Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis, Arkansas, just across the river, is unfair, he added. “You use gross gaming revenue $634 million for Tunica and handle volume or amount wagered $2.7 billion for Southland. We estimate that the net gaming win at Southland would be around $225 million to our comparable $634 million. This still means that the Tunica market is three times the size of Southland without the significant non-gaming/hospitality revenue streams that are not included in gross gaming numbers. I mention this only to make the point that when using these figures it really stands out and has an impression on how the consumer looks at the market and unfortunately, Tunica. There is no doubt that the Tunica market has declined as evidence by your story but the Southland to Tunica numbers are not a fair representation,” Franklin said.
The historic Mississippi River flooding that occurred in May 2011 also impacted the Tunica casino industry as casinos were forced to close for weeks. “When the 2011 flood hit, it changed the dynamics of this market when all the properties closed,” Franklin said. Justin Carter, general manager at Hollywood Casino, First Jackpot Casino and Resorts Casino in Tunica County, noted, “Since then we’ve been trying to reclaim that and bring people back. A lot of people have not come back and a lot of people haven’t been as frequent as they did then because that’s a very long time for a business and for businesses this large to really shut down.”
However, Tunica County leaders said they’ve been collaborating on a strategy to help the casino industry. Dunn said the group has been working with state lawmakers to consider allowing land based casinos in Tunica, similar to what happened to casinos along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. “We feel like a lot more entities and amenities would come around the casinos and that would draw a larger population to this community because we always risk another flood and that would be dire for Tunica,” Dunn said. Franklin added, “If we could let the existing properties reinvest on land here in Tunica County and make this a more modern day casino strip, I think we’d be more competitive in the long-term.”
Florida-based TJM Properties purchased the 2,000-acre Harrah’s Resort and is working on a variety of development plans, Franklin said. Possibly it could be sold and turned into a new resort with a water park, he stated. “We’ve got a great infrastructure there with the golf course and two hotels and convention center and it could be good for someone to come in and do that,” Franklin said.
Additionally, Penn National Gaming, owners of Hollywood Casino, recently purchased First Jackpot and Resorts casinos for $44 million.
“Even though it’s been a rope-a-dope, we are ready to come back very strong and I think in 2018 you’ll see some things you haven’t seen in Tunica and you’ll be very impressed,” Carter said.
