Casino news source: Sun Herald - http://www.sunherald.com
NEW VIEWS FOR A GULFPORT CASINO
Island View expansions include golf course
By TOM WILEMON
tewilemon@sunherald.com
The Island View Casino is buying Windance, where pro David Lee shows off the bunkers before the 2006 Tight Lies tournament last June.
GULFPORT --The owners of the Island View are buying a golf course next week, expanding their casino mid-month, supervising ongoing construction of new restaurants slated to open this summer and developing a master plan for new projects south of U.S. 90.
"I'm learning to be a pretty good juggler," said Rick Carter, who owns the Island View with Terry Green.
The closing on the Windance Country Club golf course is set for 3 p.m. Monday.
"It's an additional amenity that makes us a complete resort destination," Carter said. "We're going to market it to groups all around the country."
The name of the course won't change, and Windance will continue to operate as a country club, he said.
The casino is holding off announcing a date for the opening of the expanded casino until it receives approvals from the Mississippi Gaming Commission. With the expansion, the Island View will have one of the largest offerings of slot machines in the state. There will be more than 2,100 slots and a total of 47 table games.
"If you liked the first phase, the second phase is going to knock your socks off," Carter said.
The Emeril Lagasse restaurant, Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House, is not part of the mid-May opening, but it will open its doors this summer. Meanwhile, planning continues for the waterfront property the casino leases from the state Port at Gulfport.
"We think it's going to fit perfectly in the Port's master plans," Carter said. "We're going to create a synergy to bring a lot of people to Gulfport."
Carter declined to disclose how much has been spent. However, he and Green have previously said they secured $200 million in financing after buying the property from Harrah's Entertainment. |
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