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Travel

Where the currency is hope

Mississippi's Gulf Coast is banking on casinos to lift the fortunes of the entire region, much of which remains devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published November 26, 2006

	One year after it was heavily damaged by Katrina, the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino reopened on Aug. 29. With 3,800 workers, the resort is the largest employer in Biloxi.
[Getty Images]

ADVERTISEMENT [Special to the Times: James Edward Bates] The Isle of Capri Casino Resort in Biloxi, center, has a laid-back atmosphere and friendly employees. [AP photo] The Beau Rivage slot machines ring again on reopening day.

BILOXI, Miss.

Thirteen miles along U.S. 90 bridges the Mississippi Gulf Coast's past with its future. At each end lives the dream of the Biloxi-Gulfport communities to transform blue water and white sand into green money. In between is where nature and fate interrupted with a disaster called Hurricane Katrina. A drive along this coastal stretch shows what's left of that rude awakening, much of it still unusable. There is hope, though, as hotels and casinos open their doors again for tourists who see the Gulf Coast as the Las Vegas of the South.

On the south side of U.S. 90 is an eerily smooth beach, untouched by tourists and still combed by heavy machinery seeking debris. Skeletal remains of docks and piers that used to attract more fish than fishermen poke through the water's surface. A bit farther, there's the frame of a souvenir shop that barely withstood Katrina's 125 mph winds and 35-foot storm surge. An ornamental 3-D surfer still rides a frothy plastic wave.

On the other side of the highway are two cities recovering after Katrina left almost nothing behind. Buildings that aren't condemned are being reshaped behind tarps and scaffolds. The brightest colors amid the rubble-gray belong to playground equipment assembled by volunteers to ease the children's pain.

Excuse everyone's dust, please. Two wilted communities are depending upon the kindness of visiting strangers.

The new coast

Biloxi and Gulfport are rebuilding this beachfront from the outside in, literally betting on casino hotels to lift the local economy. The renovated Beau Rivage is as luxurious as ever on the Biloxi end, with nearby competition from Isle of Capri and Imperial Palace. The Hard Rock is building a bed-and-bets showplace next door.

Gulfport's only casino resort, the Island View, is expanding across U.S. 90 to beachfront suites, a spa and a restaurant starring Emeril Lagasse.

The sparkling hotels sharply contrast with the recovering areas around them. The Gulf Coast isn't ready for sightseeing yet, except to marvel at its scars.

"Once you're inside the facilities that have been built, you would never know in a million years what transpired just a little over a year ago," says Bill Kilduff, Isle of Capri vice president.

Kilduff has managed Isle of Capri since 1992, when Gulf Coast gambling began. All bets were on barges offshore until Katrina destroyed them. State laws were changed, allowing casinos onshore to spur redevelopment that's just beginning to show results. Analysts predict a $2-billion Gulf Coast gaming industry by 2010, nearly 25 percent higher than before Katrina.

"We never want to ever see any part of anything like (Katrina) again," Kilduff said. "But it's creating what some call a 'catastrophic opportunity' for the coast to get way further than it ever was in the past."

A year later, the plan to become Vegas South is back on track. Roulette wheels are spinning, buffet lines are long and emergency sirens have been replaced by jangling slot machines. Hotels are spruced up, and employees, from concierges to housekeepers, greet visitors with genuine thanks for coming. Bargains, travel packages and players club benefits are easy to find.

Looking forward

The recovery comes not a moment too soon for students at Crescent School of Gambling and Bartending, a few blocks and a world away from Beau Rivage. Aside from the hotels, this strip mall campus is Biloxi's most active place, with 160 students paying up to $2,000 to become dealers and pourers.

Before Katrina, nearly 15,000 were employed by Gulf Coast hotels and casinos. An estimated 12,000 are still unemployed, scattered to other communities or waiting for work.

"Everybody's looking for a job that pays more," said Susie Lind, 25, a single mother who made $11 an hour as a nursing assistant before Crescent lessons led to a job at Island View. "Nobody pays as much as the casinos."

Crescent owner and director Ricky Richard believes Mississippi's future is in the cards, slots and dice. "The gambling hospitality industry is what's going to carry Mississippi," he said. "This is going to be the legs that this area is going to stand on."

Right now, those legs are wobbly. Limousines delivering hotel guests may be dispatched from one-room aluminum trailers, cheaper than rebuilding an office. Earth movers and power tools don't get much sonic competition from traffic. Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport is months away from comfort and convenience for travelers.

Driving through either city is a sobering tour, occasionally lightened by the sight of homeowners nailing new roof shingles or admiring a coat of paint. Katrina destroyed everything except the Gulf Coast's spirit.

"Day by day it gets a little bit better," said Island View concierge Teresa Bush. "We always say it'll just take one more day and one more smile."

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Evidence of the Gulf Coast's Hurricane Katrina recovery pain is obvious when disembarking at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport after an 80-minute flight from Tampa. A lot of work remains before the airport's repair and expansion are completed, optimistically expected in spring.

Carpets destroyed by floodwaters haven't been replaced. Hardly any ceiling tiles conceal electrical and air-conditioning duct repairs in progress. Black plastic tarps hide construction along the walkway among six gates and a newsstand.

Only one security checkpoint is operational, causing delays as departure time approaches. Travelers seeking refreshments before flying can visit the airport's tiny sports bar, outside the security zone, before going through the checkpoint. Otherwise, you'll need to be inspected twice.

Construction has forced rental car agencies into small trailers. Flagmen direct drivers past heavy machinery through unpaved areas to the exit.

It isn't pretty or particularly convenient. Knowing that nature, not airport authority neglect, caused these conditions makes it tough to get upset.

Alternatives include flying into New Orleans or Pensacola, then renting a car for the nearly two-hour drive to Biloxi/Gulfport. The Mobile, Ala., regional airport is nearly an hour closer.

Flights average about $250 round-trip from Tampa. Hotel and air fare packages available through the Beau Rivage and Imperial Palace casino hotels may cut expenses. Three-day car rental - not a necessity - adds $100 or so. Lower gas prices and road tripping spirit make driving from the Tampa Bay region a reasonable idea. The Gulf Coast can be reached by car in about nine hours relying chiefly upon Interstate 10.

Steve Persall

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 11:53:32]