Beau Rivage opens to grand reception

Tuesday, March 16, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

More than 1,000 dignitaries took part Monday night in a gala bash to commemorate the grand opening that followed at midnight.

State Rep. Ed Ryan, R-Biloxi, described the gathering as "a who's who of the Coast. This is the biggest thing that's happened in Biloxi since it's been Biloxi."

Beau Rivage is Mirage's first venture outside Nevada since the late 1980s, when legalized casino gambling began spreading to more than 26 states.

The beginning of the Beau Rivage goes back to 1995, when casino executive Barry Shier was scouting potential acquisitions for Mirage Resorts.

Shier and Dan Lee, the company's chief financial officer, first looked at a casino on the Back Bay of Biloxi. Then they drove off the Interstate 110 loop onto heavily traveled U.S. 90, where Shier spotted the bankrupt Biloxi Belle Casino on the beach.

"I said to Dan, 'This is it,' " Shier recalled. "That's the spot."

Four years and more than $650 million later, Mirage, arguably the world's leading developer of upscale casino resorts, has opened the Beau Rivage, the company's first major project outside Nevada in almost 20 years.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast offers something new among the destination resort markets of the country, Shier said.

"Few places offer the kind of hospitality and congeniality we've experienced here. That spirit will be the key to our success on the Coast," Shier said.

Beau Rivage is the second upscale casino hotel Mirage Resorts has opened since October, when it unveiled the $1.6 billion Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. The two resorts employ nearly 14,000 workers.

Beau Rivage has a 100-foot glass atrium with fully grown magnolia trees, a yacht marina, a Cirque du Soleil showroom, a health spa, 12 restaurants and high-end retail shops - amenities far beyond what is offered at other Coast casinos.

Gov. Kirk Fordice, U.S. Reps. Gene Taylor and Ronnie Shows, both D-Miss., were among a long list of businessmen, state and local judges and other elected officials who attended a private party at the resort Monday night.

A number of Las Vegas dignitaries flew in for the gathering, including Mayor Jan Jones and noted attorney Oscar Goodman. John Wilhelm, president of the International Hotel Workers Union, and junk bond wizard Michael Milken also attended the function.