Harrah's Plans New MS Casino

05/15/2007 Harrah's Plans New Mississippi Casino

Harrah's Plans New Mississippi Casino

Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. said Tuesday it planned to open a Margaritaville Casino & Resort in Biloxi, Miss., with songwriter Jimmy Buffett, which it said would be the largest development in Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Work on the $704 million project is expected to begin this summer on a 46-acre site south of U.S. Highway 90 in Biloxi. The site formerly was occupied by Grand Casino and Casino Magic.

Buffett, the chief "parrothead" known for his lazy-day beach songs such as "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise," said he grew up on the Gulf Coast and as a native of Pascagoula, Miss., was a survivor of storms himself.

"One of the essential elements of life along the Gulf Coast is the Creole belief that hard work and good fun go hand in hand," Buffett said in a statement. "So, with that in mind I say, 'Let's get to work and let's let the good times roll again.'"

The property will have 798 hotel rooms, a full-service spa, a pool with tropical landscaping, a casino, and retail and meeting space. The project is expected to be finished in early 2010.

Harrah's, which is being bought by private equity firms in a $17.1 billion deal, said the project would be the first phase of a development that could cost more than $1 billion.

"This project ... is vital to supporting the rebirth of Mississippi's tourism industry," Harrah's chief executive Gary Loveman said