- More casinos could open along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the coming years
- Four casino proposals remain active along the coast
Casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are wading in water, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) has submerged in recent years. Despite the struggles, the region is being targeted for several new gaming developments.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission groups 12 casinos into its Coastal segment — Beau Rivage, Boomtown, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock, Harrah’s, Hollywood, IP, Island View, Palace, Scarlet Pearl, Silver Slipper, and Treasure Bay. The properties are located in Biloxi, Bay St. Louis, D’Iberville, Gulfport, and Lakeshore.
Last year, Coastal GGR from slot machines, live dealer table games, and sports betting totaled $1.582 billion. That marked the third consecutive year of lower GGR.
Regardless, there is a slew of proposed casino development activity along the Gulf Coast, with one being a more than 15-year-long project inching closer to construction.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Bullishness
While 2024 marked another year of casino decline along the Mississippi Gulf, it nonetheless represented a 20% increase from 2019, when Mississippi Coastal casinos won $1.314 billion. It’s prompted four developers to maintain their plans to expand the regional gaming market with new, from-the-ground-up casinos.
This week, RW Development, the firm controlled by local businessman Ray Wooldridge, secured a city permit in Biloxi to begin demolition of the long-damaged pier at Veterans Ave. at Beach Blvd. (US Highway 90). Woolridge plans to then build a $1 million, handicap-accessible pier with a pavilion and fishing end called the Veterans Avenue Pier.
Once complete, the pier would satisfy state gaming laws to allow Wooldridge to move forward with his plans to construct a casino resort where his Big Play Entertainment Center currently exists.
Wooldridge isn’t the only hopeful casino developer in the area. About four miles east of RW’s targeted development site, two casino pitches are ongoing.
Mississippi real estate developer Daniel Conwill and his Biloxi Capital have presented plans for a casino resort on 32 acres just west of the Biloxi Yacht Club and Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art at 420 Beach Blvd. The property is where the Tivoli Hotel stood until it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The Tivoli plan includes 1,300 hotel rooms and a 100K-square-foot casino with 2,000 slots, 75 table games, and sports betting. The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) allowed the bid to continue during a January vote.
Just east of the Tivoli scheme is where Tennessee businessman Israel Schwartz is moving forward with his Tullis Gardens Hotel & Casino project. The MGC approved the site last December.
Schwartz’s plan includes an 11-story, 300-room hotel with more than 53K square feet of gaming space featuring 900 slots, 35 tables, and a sportsbook. A full-scale replica of the Tullis-Toledano Manor — also destroyed by Katrina — is additionally in the blueprint.Â
Long Beach Bid
Further west in Long Beach, the owners of Parrish’s Restaurant & Lounge want to redevelop the former Kmart site across Beach Blvd. from the elevated restaurant into a casino and resort.
Jim Parrish has pitched a 300-room hotel and 40K-square-foot casino. Long Beach officials continue to review the presentation.
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