Tunica Casinos May Not Open In Time For Memorial Day Weekend

A Caesar’s Tunica casino official advised CNN Tuesday night the gambling properties might not open for at least another two weeks due to flooding from the Mississippi River.  Others suggest the casinos will not reopen for another six weeks, well beyond the much anticipated Memorial Day weekend.  All of the casinos closed early last week in advance of the flooding.

Harrah’s is surrounded by at least eight feet of water, however, all of the casinos are floating on barges and remain dry inside, for now. The parking lots and entry ways are a whole different story with flood waters rising to the tops of stop signs.

"It's time to be frank," Webster Franklin said in remarks at Tunica National Golf & Tennis before leading a media tour of the county's nine threatened casinos. "If water gets inside the casinos and the barges get loose, it's a disaster unlike any I think we could have imagined in our lifetimes. We'll have to work to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"In Tunica County it's $84 million in gross gaming revenue that's lost for the month of May, and what equates to is $10 million in taxes to the Tunica County and the local taxes, organizations here, so it's a big hit,” George Goldhoff with Gold Strike Casino Resort told THV TV of Arkansas.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com