The whole landscape of Biloxi, Mississippi changed in August, 2005 with the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. The beginnings of a new Biloxi are appearing and will be bringing the city back to the beautiful, semi-tropical landscape we've known. With changes to the casino gambling legislation that now permit casinos to be not only based on the water, we'll see some old landmarks disappear forever and others be built that are bigger, better and much safer in the event that another really bad hurricane comes onshore.
The Imperial Palace and Isle of Capri reopened before year's end. These casino hotels were not complete destroyed and renovations were accomplished quickly. However, others were not so lucky.
In late December, 2005, The Palace Casino reopened for online bingo business, however on a very limited basis. This had been a large hotel with two gambling barges for the gaming. Those barges are no longer intact and will never reappear, but for now the casino is open in what was once the hotel lobby. One of the ballrooms has been converted into a buffet for food services. While the set-up at this time is much smaller then in the past, housing only 826 slot machines and 14 gaming tables, rebuilding plans are underway and The Palace will return in its full glory in the near future. In the meantime, employees again have jobs and visitors have a clean, safe place to enjoy gambling and dining.
Along with the Imperial Palace and Isle of Capri, by the end of 2005 there were 2,000 hotel rooms available and three operating casinos along the water which still hold many signs of devastation. However, day visitors and tourists have begun to return and will continue in the future.
Treasure Bay's landmark pirate ship casino was severely damaged by Katrina. The pirate ship is in the process of being demolished completely, taking away a much loved sight along the beach. In the meantime, construction crews are busy converting the first two floors of the hotel into a free online bingo casino that will provide a safe, large space for gaming. Doors to the new casino area will open in July if all goes according to their plan. Seattle architect, Peter Anderson was engaged to give the casino hotel a whole new appearance. While rumors said that Treasure Bay had no insurance, this was unfounded. It was, however, true that the actual barge on which the pirate ship stood was uninsured.
Harrah's Entertainment, the biggest gambling corporation in the entire world, has two casinos planned for Biloxi. They plan to invest more than $1 billion to make these casinos some of the best of the Harrah’s stable.
Harrah's already owns the Grand Casino in Biloxi and will now add a new casino on the north side of Beach Boulevard as well as one on the south side. Harrah's is leaving Gulfport to focus on Biloxi and plans to rename the casino they held in Gulfport.
This summer, Harrah's Bayview Grand will open on the south side of Beach Boulevard. This is the location of the former Grand Biloxi but the facility will be rebuilt from the ground up due to the level of damage the Grand experienced. Players who were loyal patrons of the casino expect great things from this casino in particular and are anxious for the quick and timely completion of the property.
