Mardi Gras Casino Open
- Mardi Gras Casino & Resort West Virginia, Charleston, WV. 20,476 likes 249 talking about this 77,634 were here. With 90,000 square feet of gaming entertainment and more than 1,200 slots, your.
- The casino still has the low ceilings of the former Marco gras, but it feels newer and the carpeting has been replaced so no more dank smoky smell. There is no smoking in the casino and there weren't many smokers by the entrance to have to walk through. Inside there are plenty of staff walking around should you have a question or need assistance.
Harrah's Casino Tunica | |
---|---|
Location | Tunica Resorts, Mississippi |
Address | 13615 Old Highway 61 N |
Opening date | 1996 |
Closing date | June 2, 2014 |
Theme | Mardi Gras |
No. of rooms | 1,356 |
Total gaming space | 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) |
Signature attractions | Bellissimo Spa & Salon |
Notable restaurants | '37 Steakhouse, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, Paula Deen's Buffet |
Casino type | Riverboat casino |
Owner | Caesars Entertainment |
Previous names | Grand Casino Tunica (1996–2007) |
Smaller Las Vegas-style revue shows were also sporadically booked in the Mardi Gras Showroom. The opening of The House of Blues in 2005 saw the entertainment bookings ranging from Cyndi Lauper Elvis Costello to the White Stripes to Erykah Badu. Boxing matches are held at the casino.
Harrah's Casino Tunica, formerly Grand Casino Tunica, was a casino and resort located in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi. It was owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The casino offered a 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) casino and three hotels with a total of 1,356 rooms. There was also an RV park, the Bellissimo Spa & Salon, a convention center, The Willows sporting clays shotgun club, and a 2,500 seat entertainment venue called the Harrah's Event Center.
Citing steadily declining business rates in its last few years, Caesars announced the closure of Harrah's Casino Tunica, along with its hotels, golf course, and events center in March 2014.[1] The casino permanently closed on June 2, 2014 and was demolished in August 2015.[2] As of December 2020, the three hotel buildings remain standing, but have not operated since the resort's closure in 2014. The golf course and events center have also been abandoned.Caesar's has rented out one hotel and its parking lot to an auction company for them to have live auctions in the lot for farm equipment and other large items.
History[edit]
Grand Casino Tunica (1996-2007)[edit]
The casino itself was built in 1996. It was the largest casino between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, featuring a large poker room. The Harrah's Casino Hotel was directly connected to the casino and contained 148 rooms and 40 suites. Two additional hotels were situated along a lake approximately ½ mile away. Complimentary shuttle service ran 24 hours a day to take guests to and from the casino. The Veranda Resort Hotel, which opened in 1996 along with the casino, contained 532 rooms and 36 suites. The largest hotel was the Terrace Hotel & Spa, which opened in 1999 and contained 563 rooms and 37 suites.
Grand Casino Tunica's original owner was Grand Casinos, Inc., headed by Lyle Berman, a pioneer in developing resort-style casinos on Native American reservations and in Mississippi.
In 1998, Berman and Grand Casinos, Inc., sold their Tunica, and Biloxi, Mississippi resorts to the gaming division of Hilton Hotels, with the combined assets being spun off to create a new corporation called Park Place Entertainment (later renamed Caesars Entertainment).
In 2005, Caesars Entertainment was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment, which converted back to the Caesars Entertainment name in 2010. In the Tunica market, Caesars also operates Horseshoe Casino Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse Casino & Hotel (formerly Sheraton). The three properties share management and player marketing operations.
Harrah's Casino Tunica (2007-2014)[edit]
In October 2007, Harrah's officials announced that Grand Casino Tunica would undergo a $45 million renovation of its hotels and casinos, which included the resort being renamed Harrah's Casino Tunica.[3] In addition, the company announced that the new Harrah's would feature a new buffet bearing the name of Food Network celebrity chef Paula Deen. Paula Deen's Buffet was reported to be the first celebrity chef-branded buffet at an American casino.[4] It was rebranded in 2013 shortly after she was removed from the food network.[5]
A Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill owned by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Capri Restaurant Group Enterprises LLC opened in Harrah's in September 2010, replacing the former Replays bar and grill and Murano's Italian Restaurant.
Previous Harrah's Casinos in Tunica[edit]
This is the third casino in Tunica Resorts to bear the name Harrah's. The previous Harrah's Tunica was designed by Steelman Partners. The first was located just off Casino Strip Blvd., several miles south of the former Grand, and was the first casino to open in that area in 1993. In 1996, Harrah's acquired the shuttered Southern Belle Casino, approximately 500 yards (450 m) away from the first Harrah's. The company operated both casinos as Harrah's for a short time, calling the second property 'Harrah's Mardi Gras.' Eventually, Harrah's sold the original property to Isle of Capri Casinos, who operated it as 'Isle of Capri Tunica' for a short time before closing it.
With the sale of Caesars to Harrah's in 2004, the combined companies were forced to sell two properties to avoid owning five of the nine casinos in the Tunica market. Harrah's Mardi Gras was sold, along with Bally's Casino Tunica, to Colony Capital, and Harrah's Mardi Gras was renamed Resorts Casino Tunica.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^WREG.com: Harrah’s Tunica Casino To Close
- ^'Demolition begins at Harrah's Casino in Tunica'. WMC-TV. Memphis, Tennessee, USA. August 22, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^Harrahs.com: Harrah's Tunica Coming Soon
- ^Harrahs.com: Paula Deen's Buffet - Coming May 2008
- ^Tepper, Rachel (June 26, 2013). 'Paula Deen Dropped By Caesars Entertainment, Loses Four Casino Buffets'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
External links[edit]
Coordinates: 34°51′20″N90°17′40″W / 34.855613°N 90.294544°W
Senate members in West Virginia issued a letter to Gov. Jim Justice regarding the state’s plans to “open for business.”
Several Republicans, including Sen. Mike Maroney and Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, sent a letter to Justice urging that the state start to reopen.
While a lot of states within the US still have some sort of “stay-at-home” orders in place, others are beginning the process of opening up certain types of business.
Since the Mountain State hasn’t been affected nearly as bad as other areas of the country, some state leaders think it’s time to get the ball rolling.
Both Maroney and Takubo are actually physicians. They, along with many others, want normalcy returning to the state sooner than later.
Senate Majority Whip, Ryan Weld, is in the same boat. According to The Intelligencer, Weld said:
“The time is now to begin planning. We have to be cautious, and we have to take into consideration the advice of medical experts as we begin planning over the next couple of weeks.”
The five retail WV casinos were shut down more than a month ago when Justice implemented the executive order.
Although COVID-19 is still affecting many in the US, daily cases are decreasing regularly. Since WV was not hit as hard as other locations in the country, it could conceivably be one of the first back up and running.
Opening WV casinos and other non-essential businesses
It’s a very difficult time for leaders in every state in the US. Getting residents back to work is essential, but so is keeping everyone healthy and out of harm’s way.
Is Mardi Gras Casino Open On Christmas
Of course, opening businesses back up will help the nation’s economy, however, is it worth the risk if the coronavirus continues to spread?
Although the WV leadership that wrote this letter to Justice preach taking precaution, parts of the message don’t. The letter reads:
Mardi Gras Casino Wv Open
“I have spoken with business leaders, colleagues in the Legislature, and most importantly, many constituents. Although opinions vary, the vast majority are very concerned that new rules and regulations will be an overreaction and the pendulum will swing too far in the direction of undue restrictions. In other words, there is a very real fear that further drastic changes will adversely affect West Virginia businesses and all West Virginians.”
While the financial ramifications of the coronavirus are substantial and only growing, health will always be more important. If businesses don’t take proper safety measures and another outbreak occurs, the state will be worse off than now.
The message to the governor continued:
“If we do make drastic changes, West Virginia will be at risk for significant long-term unemployment and a substantial decrease in state revenue, which would lead to a loss of vital state programs that benefit so many throughout our state. If this were to happen, the unemployment, poverty, and hopelessness brought on by COVID-19 may have the potential to create more havoc in West Virginia than the disease itself.”
Although they make a point, there’s no way a pandemic virus that’s claimed thousands of American lives can be understated. WV and every other state in the country should return back to normal at a pace that prioritizes everyone’s health.
Impact on WV sportsbooks and casinos
WV sportsbooks and casinos would be two businesses directly impacted when and how the state reopens.
Since there are no mobile casino apps in WV just yet, all casino revenue comes from retail casino operations. Sports wagering can still be conducted on the three WV online sportsbooks available:
It makes sense that casino operators would be in favor of getting people back on the gaming floor as fast as possible. Not to mention, the state budget could certainly use some of the gambling revenue that it was getting prior to the shutdown.
And although online sports betting exists, three of the five WV casinos don’t feature a mobile sportsbook:
- Mountaineer Casino
- Mardi Gras
- WheelingIsland
All three need retail wagering to return in order to see any profits. Even if they do open, they still will be missing one key component for sports betting – sports.
The reality is that opening up too quickly could prove to be detrimental.
Is The Mardi Gras Casino Open
In spite of the letter sent to Justice, it seems likely that casinos will need to take plenty of caution when they open. This may include fewer seats, tables, and slots to help encourage more social distancing.