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An army of painters, carpenters and landscapers are at work at Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, which plans to reopen in early fall.
"We have over 450 people a day working on it," said John Jagunich, president, chief operating officer and general manager at Hollywood Casino, which was formerly known as Casino Magic. "It's a big project. We're basically building everything back."
Nine-hundred-fifty employees are expected to go back to work when a temporary casino opens in the hotel tower at the resort, he said. More than 700 of the 950 employees worked at the resort before Hurricane Katrina, he said.
"We're still hiring," Jagunich said. Servers, bar tenders, cocktail waitresses and dishwashers are still needed.
Hollywood Casino is the only casino in Hancock County, but it won't be for long. Silver Slipper Gambling Hall & Saloon, which is new to the market, plans to open Oct. 12 in Waveland.
"Any casino opening in Hancock is really good news," said Larry Gregory, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission. "Hancock County is not recovering as quickly as Biloxi, where five casinos have reopened."
Gregory said he expects Hollywood Casino to open Sept. 1.
"What set it apart when it was Casino Magic was its patronage," he said. "The Biloxi market catered to the Florida panhandle, Mobile and the Alabama area. What differentiated Casino Magic was it catered to the Louisiana market. It was the closest casino to the Louisiana stateline and its market was geared to Slidell, New Orleans and the north shore. It was extremely successful in getting those folks to come to Mississippi."
The temporary casino at Hollywood Casino will open with 850 slots, 20 tables games and six poker tables, Jagunich said. "This is a temporary casino but when you walk into it you'd never know it," he said.
Gaming equipment should be moved in starting next week, Jagunich said. Plans are to add 420 slots about six months after the casino opens, he said.
HOLLYWOOD THEME
The Hollywood theme will be carried out by architecture rather than movie memorabilia, he said. The road leading to the resort has been renamed Hollywood Boulevard and art deco style signage and palm trees suggest Hollywood, he said.
Two-hundred-ninety-one refurbished hotel rooms, several restaurants, 14,00 square feet of meeting space and a ballroom that seats 800 people will reopen in the hotel tower when the casino does, he said.
Restaurants will include The Epic Buffet, Tuscany Steak and Seafood and Jackpot Java. The Oak Royale nightclub, where jazz artist Pete Fountain played two nights a week before Katrina, will also reopen.
"We're in the process of negotiating with Pete," Jagunich said. "He's suffered severe health problems. We want to make sure he's good and healthy."
The Bridges Golf Club, which is the only golf course on the grounds of a Gulf Coast casino resort, is being reshaped with new sod, greens, tee boxes and bunkers, and foliage. It is expected to reopen between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, Jagunich said.
"It will retain its Arnold Palmer designation," he said.
Stephen B. Richer, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the casino, hotel rooms and golf course at Hollywood Casino will be a boost to tourism on the Coast. "Golf tourism is important to the state of Mississippi and the Gulf Coast," he said.
Richer said the Hollywood theme and promotions of it are consistently one of the top themes for gaming as judged by the American Gaming Association. "People enjoy how that brand has presented itself," he said.
Hollywood Casino's 100-space RV park has been open since a month after Katrina, Jagunich said. "We assisted Hancock County Hospital with trailers for doctors," he said.
Penn National Gaming, which owns Hollywood Casino, plans to build "bigger and better permanent facilities," he said.
Hurricane Katrina demolished the resort's 200-room inn, destroyed its human resources and maintenance building, and swept its entertainment barge from its moorings across the Bay of St. Louis to Diamondhead, which is five miles away. The resort's gaming barge stayed in place, but severe wind took the sides off, he said.
The resort's hotel tower took on 15 feet of water, windows blew out and the building was left a muddy mess, Jagunich said.
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