Casinos in Tunica County are looking to sports betting to revive the fortunes of the northern Mississippi market.
- Scott Barber, regional vice president for Caesars Entertainment, which operates the Horseshoe Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse casinos, believes sports books fill a crying need for a new product to lure people back to the Delta, where Mississippi’s gaming market was born a quarter-century ago but where revenues have been steadily falling by 3 percent – 4 percent a year for the last decade.
As he put it, “Imagine if you are a 25-year-old amusement park and haven’t added a new ride or anything.”
With betting, especially on football, Tunica will once more be a draw for visitors from as far away as Jackson, Birmingham and Little Rock, he said.
“We can get some markets we haven’t touched for some time. We’ll be able to attract them. We’re in the heart of SEC country.”
Anticipating the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month striking down a long-time federal ban on sports betting, Mississippi lawmakers have already moved to enact legislation that legalizes the industry in the state’s casinos, and Caesars plans to have temporary books in place at its Tunica properties in time for football season.
Caesars has identified space inside the Horseshoe for a permanent sports book, according to Barber, who said he expects the new spaces, smaller versions of what Caesars has in Las Vegas, to open within 12 to 14 months of breaking ground.
“I think you are looking at some very large-scale investments in the facilities,” he said.
And, he added, he expects the owners of the six other Delta casinos to do the same.
Larry Gregory, executive director of the Jackson-based Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association, agrees that sports betting has the potential to lift the north Mississippi market out of its long lethargy.
“This may be the silver bullet to get Tunica back on its feet.”
