Isle’s closing of restaurant not a violation of regulation

Thursday, July 20, 2000 | 11:06 a.m.

The Isle of Capri has said the hotel restaurant will close Friday. The Isle of Capri acquired the hotel when it bought the Natchez casino from Lady Luck Inc.

Two years ago, the state Gaming Commission required any new casino to invest an equal amount of capital in land-based facilities. In most cases that has meant hotels.

"Isle of Capri is not subject to the new rule because they are taking over the established boat," said commission spokeswoman Ashley Skellie.

When Lady Luck opened in 1993, there were no requirements to invest in hotels. About five years ago, the Gaming Commission began requiring a 25 percent match, and increased it later to a dollar-for-dollar amount.

Isle of Capri General Manager Wendy Grandin said keeping the restaurant open was not profitable for the casino company.

"There really weren't that many guests eating at the hotel," she said.

She said the recent renovation of the casino's restaurant, now Calypso's, also prompted the closing.

"It didn't seem feasible to keep it open," Grandin said. "We tracked the numbers for a while and found that most guests were already eating at other places."