Mississippi Casinos Celebrate 23 Years Of Business

In 1992, Mississippi opened its very first casino called “Splash”, and despite being a small venue situated atop a barge, the casino proved a popular choice with customers prepared to wait three-hour, and pay a $10 entrance fee before being allowed to gamble. At the time of its opening, however, no one was certain what impact gambling would have on the state, with proponents touting its potential economic benefits, whilst opponents warned of the dangers gambling posed to its residents and the community as a whole.
Since then, a total of 30 casinos have sprung up all over the ‘Magnolia State’, in the process creating around 35,000 direct and indirect jobs, attracting around 20 millions of out-of-state visitors each year, and generating billions of dollars in revenues. Valuable gambling taxes have then be funneled into important projects across the state, including helping schools, youth and elderly associations. Commenting on Mississippi’s 23 year-old casinos industry, Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, described the casino operators as upstanding corporate residents who “give a lot back to the communities”.
Since peaking at $3 billion in 2007, however, business has fallen in seven out of the last eight years, and in 2014 revenues contracted by 3.2% to $2.07 billion, compared to 2013. A big part of the decline can be attributed to the sharp increase in competition from both outside and inside the state, but these days casinos realize the importance of following the Las-Vegas model and generating revenues derived from outside direct gambling. As Allen Godfrey explains:
“It’s not about gambling anymore; it’s about entertainment and promoting tourism and all those things that go along with that.”
Having said that, there was also some rare good news from inside the gambling market to help Mississippi mark its 23 year old casino anniversary, and according to the Mississippi Gaming Commission the state’s venues noted a 2.5% improvement in revenues in July compared to the same month last year.