Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.
GULFPORT, Miss. -- The house knew a bad bet when it saw one, and with Isidore holding the high cards, the casinos had to fold.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission ordered the 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos closed at 10 a.m. Wednesday, leaving vacationing gamblers and bored employees with little to do.
With casino parking lots empty, the electronic sign writers tried to have a little fun.
At the Grand Casino Gulfport, the big sign read: "All bets off 'til Isidore folds." On the board next door at Copa Casino, a big swirling Isidore was spinning ever closer to the electronic coast, just like on a weather map.
Two bellhops at the Grand Casino said they were out about $75 in tips.
"This is a very bad day," Anthony McMillan, 19, said.
Joe Billhimer, the president and general manager of Grand Casino Gulfport, said he didn't think his casino's 2,300 employees would lose much income because extra help had to be brought in to close down the casino, and more help will be needed to reopen.
Billhimer said the Gaming Commission had little choice but to close the casinos. "The safety of our associates and guests is paramount," he said.
Linda Rouse, the Harrison County's civil defense director, said closing the casinos was part of reducing the number of people on the coast.
Rich Randall, the director of enforcement for the Mississippi Gaming Commission, said closing the casinos let public safety officials who would otherwise provide casino security respond to storm matters.
Still, the closure left guests with nowhere to go and little to do.
"We're stuck," said George English, 76, who lives in Delray Beach, Fla. "It's a day of boredom."
English, along with wife Adele, had to play bridge instead of blackjack, but Adele English said they understood: "It's the weather. It's the circumstances."
Pat Sullivan, the chief of the Gulfport Fire Department, said closing the casinos, all of which are floating barges, is a matter of putting people above property and profits.
"If we don't lose people and the property damage is minimal, we consider it a successful storm, if there can be such a thing," he said.
The last time the Coast casinos closed was during Hurricane Georges in 1998, Billhimer said.
"It's part of being on the Gulf Coast," Billhimer said. "It's going to happen."
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