Most coastal casinos to reopen as storm retreats

Jason Straziuso

Friday, Sept. 27, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

BILOXI, Miss. -- The state Gaming Commission has given the go-ahead to Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos to open for business two days after thousands of customers were sent packing by Tropical Storm Isidore.

Most of the gambling houses on casino row in Harrison County were expected to open today after closing Wednesday at the direction of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

Parking lots were deserted Thursday, even as the tropical storm slapped the area a final time with heavy rains and winds as it moved off to the northeast.

Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi sustained a 12-foot-wide gash when the storm surge that accompanied the tropical storm's landfall early Thursday drove its entrance ramp deep into a front wall. Backup security cables were the only thing keeping the casino barge from floating away, as all of its moorings were severed.

There was a gas leak at Grand Casino Gulfport when a ramp collapse severed utility hookups early Thursday, said Pat Sullivan, Gulfport's fire chief.

U.S. 90, the primary feeder road to the casinos and their hotels, was flooded in areas. Elsewhere, debris covered the usually busy beach front four-lane highway.

Dick and Pat Thompson drove 500 miles from Tarpon Springs, Fla., to try their luck this week. On Thursday they could only walk the beach.

"They closed down everything, so we watched TV and had dinner," Dick Thompson said.

"But at least we're saving money," added 62-year-old Pat Thompson.

Bernie Burkholder, president and CEO of Treasure Bay Corp., said he expects his casino to be out of business for up to two weeks.

The casino lost a 25-foot section of its boarding ramp after mooring lines were severed early Thursday, he said. When the barge moved, the ramp was driven into the side of the casino, creating the gash.

Burkholder said the commission and Civil Defense officials made the right decision when the casinos were ordered closed.

"I know a lot of people, myself included, didn't think it was the right thing to do at the time," Burkholder said. "But it turned out to be a good decision."

John, a tourist from Texas who would not give his last name, was sitting outside the Treasure Bay Hotel with little more to do than study the nearby damaged casino.

"I was going to be here longer but I'm leaving as soon as the weather permits," John said. "I came to play games and there's no games. It's kind of disappointing."