Casino news source: Pensacola News Journal - http://www/pensacolaNewsJournal.com
Gambling industry refuses to fold
Casinos offer hopes of a future for tens of thousands of workers
BILOXI, Miss. -- Just like a compulsive gambler who refuses to quit, Mississippi's Gulf Coast casinos are coming back to life.
They're re-emerging from the rubble of Hurricane Katrina, struggling to deal the coast a winning hand after the catastrophic storm of a year ago.
From Biloxi to Gulfport to Bay St. Louis, casino gambling has been the lifeblood of the coastal economy -- and the lifeblood of the state's economy -- since voters approved it in 1992.
Before Katrina decimated the area, Mississippi had 29 state-regulated casinos, about half on the coast and half along the Mississippi River. The Aug. 29, 2005, storm destroyed 12 of the gambling houses, which accounted for 45 percent of the state's gaming market.
Now, one by one, they are coming back to life, promising glittery dreams in towns where dreams are all many people have left. Signs promoting "Huge Payouts" are springing up in an area where much of the population lives in trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"People go in the casinos and gamble their FEMA checks away, hoping to get out of debt," said Tavarius Davis, 30, of Biloxi, who lives with his wife and two children in a FEMA trailer. "But they bring in jobs and they bring in tourists. There's good and bad to them."
Six Mississippi Coast casinos have reopened since last fall, and more will open in the coming days and weeks.
The biggest and glitziest casino, Beau Rivage, will reopen on Tuesday -- the anniversary of Katrina. Hollywood Casino -- formerly Casino Magic Bay St. Louis -- will reopen Thursday.
"They're revenue, and we need them," said Lynn Standfuss, 40, of Waveland, a former Hollywood Casino supervisor who starts back to work Tuesday after a year layoff. "My husband and I both lost our jobs. A lot of people did. People depend on them for paychecks. When the casinos closed, it changed people's whole lives."
About 14,000 people were employed by Mississippi Coast casinos before Katrina, and now the gambling houses are struggling to find workers in areas where populations have shrunk. Many casinos have upped their wages to lure workers, Standfuss and others said.
The casinos are trying to lure visitors as well.
Pensacolians fond of the nearby casinos have been heading west since the casinos began reopening at the beginning of this year, said Jerri Smith, general manager of Good Time Tours in Pensacola.
"On weekdays, we send one bus in the morning and one at night," she said. "And we have additional pickups on the weekends. Right now, we're sending about 1,000 people a week over there."
But Smith said Good Time Tours' business is still down significantly from its prestorm range.
"It's slowly been building," she said. "The last couple of months have been good, but January and February, which are usually busy months because of the snowbirds, were down. We had a slow season this year."
Pensacola resident Aaron Holt has visited the casinos three times this year.
"It's the closest thing we have to (Las) Vegas around here," said Holt, 23, who plays blackjack and poker during his visits. "I go for fun, but it's got to help their economy, too."
According to the Mississippi Tax Commission, Mississippi casino revenue was $2.7 billion in 2004, third behind only Nevada and New Jersey.
"They do a lot for the area," said Wendy Frees, 57, of Biloxi. "They provide a lot of jobs here and bring money to the area, and our taxes aren't as high because of them."
But some wonder whether the casinos, many of which have 24-hour pawn shops located just across the street, are draining money from Mississippi residents who can least afford it.
"I know people who have lost fortunes there," Davis said. "They're so desperate, they'll pawn the last thing they have just to gamble a little more. If they weren't here, the people would be holding on to their money."
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