Casino news source: The Hattiesburg American - http://hattiesburgamerican.com/
Beau Rivage to have new look
By Rachel Leifer
The Beau is back.
That's the phrase on the lips of many South Mississippians eager to see the new and improved Beau Rivage casino and resort, which reopens Aug. 29, exactly a year after the luxury complex was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina's winds and water.
Its parent company MGM Mirage pumped $550 million into a dramatic renovation of the resort - and that's on top of the $800 million it cost to build it in the first place.
The overhauled Beau Rivage includes 1,740 remodeled guest rooms, a redesigned casino floor complete with a high-stakes poker room, a spa and salon, seven restaurants, four lounges and bars and six retail shops, Public Relations Director Mary Cracchiolo said.
And more restaurants, shops and a 1,550-seat showroom are planned for the fall and winter.
There was a time when some feared casino companies would flee this hurricane-riddled region.
"There was never a question whether we would rebuild the Beau Rivage," Cracchiolo said. "Our confidence in the market really never wavered."
The Beau Rivage will join five other casinos that have reopened along the Coast, showing the million-dollar gambling industry has bounced back quicker than many expected.
Biloxi's Imperial Palace, Isle of Capri and Palace Casino Resort reopened in December; the slot machines at Boomtown and Treasure Bay began ringing again in June. And Grand Casino Biloxi reopens next week.
It was difficult to envision when Katrina's storm surge deposited several massive casino barges in the middle of U.S. 90 last year. But because Mississippi legalized land-based gaming within 800 feet of the shore after the storm, tax money is rolling back into state coffers and thousands of South Mississippi's casino workers are back on the job.
And not a moment too soon. The state saw an 18 percent drop in the tax revenue generated from casinos after Katrina disabled the Coast's gambling operation. In fiscal year 2005, casinos contributed $334 million to state and local coffers. In 2006, it was down to $273 million. Tax money from casinos covered 30 percent of Biloxi's budget alone.
The Beau Rivage will employ 3,800 people, Cracchiolo said - 400 more than it did pre-Katrina.
In a region where many amusements have been wiped away, casinos provide an attractive distraction from the drudgery of the slow rebuilding process. Patrons bet $375 million in the first half of 2006 at the three casinos that were open at the time - nearly 70 percent of what they had spent when nine casinos were open in Biloxi alone last year.
The re-entry of the Beau Rivage into Mississippi's gaming market promises to add to that take. Though casino giant Harrah's plans to erect high-end resorts to compete with the Beau Rivage, Cracchiolo said competition would only enrich the gaming market.
And with acts including Jay Leno, Tony Bennett and the Beach Boys scheduled for its opening weeks, Cracchiolo said the resort would emerge once again as the Gulf Coast's premier entertainment site.
Katrina offered "the opportunity to renovate the entire property, bringing back customer favorites and improving what could be improved," Cracchiolo said.
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