Harrah's asks state for temporary Mississippi casino

September 2

In Mississippi, Harrah's Entertainment's top executive is recommending the Mississippi government permit the casino operator to build a temporary casino on land to replace its Grand Casino Biloxi riverboat, which was destroyed Monday during Hurricane Katrina.

The temporary casino, with no hotel, could be built pretty quick and could begin the recovery to generate some much needed revenue for the state.

Mississippi's Gulf Coast has been devastated by the massive hurricane that blew ashore early Monday morning, leaving thousands and thousands of people without homes or jobs. Hundreds are also dead in the area.

Both its riverboat-based tourist economy and its local economy have been damaged and were abruptly stopped in the wake of the storm.. When asked about the appropriateness of opening a casino amid the destruction, the exec said the casino would draw from a wider region (many players are known to be from Florida) and would generate more tax revenue for the state.

Harrah's also owns the Grand Casino Gulfport in Mississippi, a riverboat casino that was destroyed, and a land-based casino in New Orleans that sustained only minor roofing damage that caused minimal flooding. Harrah's owns more casinos that were hurt by Katrina than those owned by any other Las Vegas operator.

When and where the company will be allowed to rebuild its Biloxi and Grand Casino Gulfport properties and whether they would be farther inland and in more secure locations will depend on if the law changes. It likely will not.