Casino Magic riverboat to rebuild in Biloxi

September 5

After touring Mississippi's hurricane damage first hand, Pinnacle Entertainment's top executive said he is confident that the casino operator can rebuild its Casino Magic riverboat within 2 short years.

Chief Executive Dan Lee said the company intends to draft casino workers into helping rebuild the property and will set up training classes for people with little to no construction experience.

Following recent comments made by Harrah's Gary Loveman, Lee said the company wants to rebuild its casinos so that workers can start earning money as quickly as possible and the community as a whole will generate cash income again.

To rebuild Casino Magic, Pinnacle is gathering the same team it used to build its luxury resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana., to reconstruct in Biloxi. The general contractor will then give preference to hiring Pinnacle employees.

The company's other casino in the area, Boomtown New Orleans, did not sustain any major damage during the massive storm.

Lee said the Biloxi casino's customers mostly come from Florida anyway, which wasn't massively devastated by the storms its neighbors Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana were.

The company has vowed to continue paying its employees while its two casinos are closed.