Beau Rivage to be expanded

Thursday, Jan. 4, 2001 | 10:36 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BILOXI, Miss. -- The Beau Rivage hotel-casino in Biloxi has begun a five-month, $22 million expansion and remodeling of its casino, buffet and Cafe Jardin restaurant.

Cafe Jardin will be temporarily closed and eventually moved closer to the front window to accommodate the expansion of the buffet, spokeswoman Sandy Zanella said.

"There were some people who were disappointed," Zanella said Wednesday. "But they understood when we explained why we were doing it."

Increasing demand for the hotel-casino's seafood buffet is prompting parent company MGM MIRAGE of Las Vegas to expand and redesign the restaurant, almost doubling the seating capacity from 354 to 600, Zanella said. The expansion should shorten and at times eliminate long lines to the buffet, she said.

Work on the buffet and Cafe Jardin is scheduled to be completed in May.

Meanwhile, the company will expand the casino, adding 250 slot machines to the inventory of about 2,000 electronic gambling devices. The baccarat and high-end gambling tables will be moved to a more secluded area recently used as an upscale bar. Zanella said the current baccarat area will be used for high denomination slot machines.

Work on the casino is expected to be finished in April.