Caesars Calls it Quits at Tunica Roadhouse Casino

Caesars Entertainment has issued a press release stating that they will be shutting down all of their operations at Tunica Roadhouse Casino in Mississippi. The casino will officially cease working on January 31st 2019.

The gambling conglomerate company has also stated that they will keep the neighboring Horseshoe Hotel and Casino open for business.

An End After the Struggle

The fate of the 400 Tunica employees should be in good hands, as company looks to secure future jobs for all the workers – some of them will continue working in a hotel while for the remaining ones, jobs at other properties will be found.

The decision to close down the casino came after a thorough revision of its financial accomplishments in recent years which were scarce. The decline in business is not limited to only this particular property, as most gaming venues in this area have been making ends meet for some time now.

At the peak of its powers, Roadhouse had 36 table games and more than 1,300 slot machines, but this dwindled to 17 tables and 689 slot terminals.

Caesars became property owners in 2004, having opened it as Sheraton Casino and Hotel Tunica.

The Victim of Changing Times

Scott Barber, Caesars Entertainment Mid-South Regional President comments: “After exploring every other viable alternative, we have come to the difficult but necessary conclusion to cease gaming operations at Tunica Roadhouse in an effort to appropriately position our business for the current market opportunity and ensure the long-term viability of our remaining operations in the vicinity.”

Back in 1990, when Atlantic City were offering gambling services in the whole of USA.

This made Mississippi one of the early thriving hubs for gambling that created 14,000 jobs and launched a surge in tourism, consequently earning the nickname of “Tunica Miracle.”

However, with the sweeping gaming expansion across the whole US, especially with accelerated liberalization of online and sports betting markets in each state individually, Tunica was dealt a massive blow that keeps shutting down its casinos.

At the time, Tunica gross gambling revenue regularly reached $1 billion on annual level. In 2017, however, the GGR was $595.5 million, which was a 5.7% drop compared to the year prior.

Futile Attempts at Revival

Casino operators in Tunica have wholeheartedly ed the authorization of sports betting in the state in a hope that it will provide the necessary lifeline and reverse their fortunes.

Sportsbooks in Tunica casinos (Horseshoe included) collected $32.8 million in wagers in October – Caesars sportsbook partner in Mississippi is Scientific Games and beside the Tunica property, the company has sportsbooks in Biloxi Casino and Gulf Coast Hotel.

Source:

“Caesars Entertainment to stop all gambling at Tunica Roadhouse Casino”, kait8.com, November 28, 2018.