Casino news source: The Mercury News - http://www.mercurynews.com/
Want to gamble? Mississippi's Tunica is a good bet
By Mary Ann Anderson
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
(MCT)
TUNICA, Miss. - The alarm clock chirped at 6 a.m. Instantly awake, I threw back the covers, leaped from the bed, and pulled open the drapes. From my 29th floor hotel room high above the vast Mississippi Delta, the sun had already begun to transform the grey early morning light into iridescent strands of red and orange.
But on that morning - just like every other morning here on the banks of the Mississippi River - ol' Sol had a little help brightening the skies, which materialized in the form of a million flashing bright lights heralding the Gold Strike Casino and Resort.
As I looked down, the casino parking lot was already half-full, even at the early hour, with either holdover gamblers from the night before or newcomers trying their luck at the slots or blackjack tables. Even the hotel parking lot was crammed full of cars, the hotel sold out for weeks beforehand, as it is nearly every weekend of the year. The same goes for just every other hotel around these parts.
"These parts" is Tunica, a Delta town about a half-hour drive south of Memphis. Used to be, there wasn't much below Memphis except cotton fields, sweltering heat, black top highways, country stores - and more poverty than some Third World countries.
Until 1990, that is.
That's when the Mississippi legislature legalized gaming to create jobs and bring industry to the river and coastal areas. At the time Tunica County was one of the poorest counties not only in Mississippi, but in the entire country, with its unemployment soaring in the double-digits, more than half of the households getting food stamps, and a future that looked bleaker than bleak.
Since those slot machines first whirled around and ka-ching-ka-ching-ka-chinged until today, when nine full-scale resorts and casinos speckle the area, Tunica has attained what was once thought unattainable by spinning its cotton fields into pure gold. And somehow the county has managed to evolve from boondocks and backwater into the largest gaming destination between Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
While the cotton fields are still here - some are so close that you can literarily step out of a casino and be knee-deep in cotton - Tunica has, according to Claire Pittman of the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau, managed to bring itself up to "a high standard of living."
Not only did the casinos come to Tunica, but also they poured money back into the economy. With the backdrop of all those glittering casino lights - sort of a Southern-fried Las Vegas - nearly 16,000 jobs were created, new schools and recreation facilities were built, a new airport was constructed, and the roadways were cleaned up and improved considerably.
In fact, I don't recall seeing a single piece of trash alongside the roads of Tunica County. When I mentioned that to Pittman, she proudly noted that Tunica hired employees for the singular purpose of keeping trash off the roads.
And despite the 10 to 12 million visitors that pass through here each year, the magnolia-speckled town of Tunica proper, just a short drive from the casinos, has managed to retain all its small-town ambiance and charm.
There's no Wal-Mart or Target in the historic town, just a few mom-and-pop antique and gift shops loaded with local treasures, a wonderful turn-of-the-century inn called "The Columns," and the beloved Blue & White, a circa-1937 gas station converted to a home-cooking restaurant where the omelets are so deliciously huge and stuffed with meat and cheese that I call it the "instant stroke."
Back down on the mighty Mississip', there are plenty of other venues to explore, too - if you can tear yourself away from the gaming tables for a spell. Tunica Riverpark, a combination museum, aquarium, and walking trails, is on the banks of the Mississippi, while the nearby Tunica Arena hosts equine shows and livestock events. The Tunica Queen offers fine dining aboard an authentic riverboat, and for duffers the 18-hole championship Tunica National Golf & Tennis Club, Cottonwoods Golf Course at Grand Casino, and River Bend Links at Casino Strip Resorts are a short drive or walk from the casinos.
You can, ahem, "bet" that most visitors come for the casinos and to play everything from penny slots to high stakes poker. High rollers are even afforded over-the-top suites and amenities that are comparable to, if not surpassing, places like Vegas, Monte Carlo, and the Bahamas.
Ready to play? Here's where to stay:
_Bally's Tunica, with 238 rooms and three restaurants, is rustically themed to resemble an old farmstead complete with silos and barns.
_The Irish-themed Fitzgerald's, also known as the Fitz, has 507 rooms and is home to the acclaimed Don B's restaurant.
_The Gold Strike Casino and Resort, with its Vegas-style casino, soars to 31 stories and is the tallest building in Mississippi. Its Chicago Steakhouse was honored with Wine Spectator's "Award of Excellence," and its Sunday champagne brunch is exceptional.
_The Grand Casino has nearly 1,400 rooms and 27,000 square feet of convention space. Complete with the soothing Bellisimo Spa, an array of restaurants, kids' activities, and Cottonwoods, its own golf course, the Grand is so immense that it even has its own traffic lights. And it's the only casino in Tunica with a nonsmoking section.
_The stage is set at Hollywood Casino, a glittering hotel and casino complex crammed with movie memorabilia and slot machines that boast a 98 percent payout. Its Epic Buffet is, well, epic in proportions, and Fairbanks Steakhouse was voted the "Best Steakhouse in Tunica" by Casino Player Magazine.
_The Horseshoe Casino Tunica, owned by Harrah's, has more than 65,000 square feet of gaming space, enough to hold 2,000 slot machines - including high limit slots - and 70 table games. The Horseshoe's N'awlins Restaurant with its New Orleans-style cuisine is simply superb.
_Resorts Casino Hotel, a smaller property with only 200 rooms, offers a more intimate setting than some of the larger casinos. Complete with white columns, Resorts is reminiscent of an Old South plantation.
_Sam's Town, a truly impressive and colorful Old West-style property, is always lively, always fun. Sam's Town offers live Keno, nightly entertainment, an RV park, and River Palace Entertainment Center that features headline acts. Among it s other restaurants, Smokey's Joe's Restaurant is ideal for sampling Southern fare.
_The Sheraton, boasting Tunica's "Loosest Slots," is built in the fashion of a Tudor mansion. This all-suite property, complete with sit-down check-in and in-room Jacuzzis, contains only 134 spacious luxury suites for a quiet Delta setting.
In the past dozen years or so, my husband and I made quite a few trips to Tunica and have visited all of the hotels and casinos. In all my experiences of traveling the globe, I must say that Tunica's hotel and casino employees, most of whom are local citizens raised on Southern hospitality and "ma'am and sir" good manners, are among the most down-to-earth, helpful, warm, and friendly that I have ever encountered.
Tunica, once so destitute but now the South's poster child for renovation and revitalization, is definitely walkin' in high cotton - and smilin' all the way to the bank.
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IF YOU GO:
Tunica is about a half-hour drive south of Memphis, Tenn. Pan Am Clipper Connection, with regularly scheduled nonstop service from Atlanta, is the only carrier to fly into Tunica Airport (www.flypanam.com or call 1.800.359.7262). Other major carriers fly into Memphis International Airport, where car rentals or shuttles are available.
Contact the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau by visiting www.tunicamiss.org or by calling 1-888.4TUNICA (1.888.488.6422). |
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