Harrah's Casino Tunica

Harrah's Casino Tunica

Location	Tunica Resorts, Mississippi
Address	13615 Old Highway 61 N
Opening date	1996
Closing date	June 2, 2014
Theme	Art Deco
Number of rooms	1,356
Total gaming space	140,000 sq ft (13,000 m²)
Signature attractions	Bellissimo Spa & Salon
Notable restaurants	'37 Steakhouse
Casino type	Riverboat
Owner	Caesars Entertainment
Previous names	Grand Casino Tunica

Harrah's Casino Tunica, formerly Grand Casino Tunica, was a casino and resort located in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi. It was owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The casino offered a 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m²) casino and three hotels with a total of 1,356 rooms. There was also an RV park, the Bellissimo Spa & Salon, a convention center, and a 2,500 seat entertainment venue called the Harrah's Event Center.

Citing steadily declining business rates in the last few years, Caesars announced the closure of Harrah's Casino Tunica, along with its hotels, golf course, and events center in March 2014.^[1] The casino permanently closed on June 2, 2014.

Facility history

Harrah's Tunica Hotel and Casino

The casino itself was built in 1996. It was the largest casino between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, featuring a large poker room. The Harrah's Casino Hotel was directly connected to the casino and contained 148 rooms and 40 suites. Two additional hotels were situated along a lake approximately ½ mile away. Complimentary shuttle service ran 24 hours a day to take guests to and from the casino. The Veranda Resort Hotel, which opened in 1996 along with the casino, contained 532 rooms and 36 suites. The largest hotel was the Terrace Hotel & Spa, which opened in 1999 and contained 563 rooms and 37 suites.

Renovations and name change

In October 2007, Harrah's officials announced that Grand Casino Tunica would undergo a $45 million renovation of its hotels and casinos, which included the resort being renamed Harrah's Casino Tunica.^[2] In addition, the company announced that the new Harrah's will feature a new buffet bearing the name of Food Network celebrity chef Paula Deen. Paula Deen's Buffet is reported to be the first celebrity chef-branded buffet at an American casino.^[3]

A Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill owned by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Capri Restaurant Group Enterprises LLC opened in Harrah's in September 2010, replacing the former Replays bar and grill and Murano's Italian Restaurant.

Ownership history

Grand Casino Tunica's original owner was Grand Casinos, Inc., headed by Lyle Berman, a pioneer in developing resort-style casinos on Native American reservations and in Mississippi.

In 1998, Berman and Grand Casinos, Inc., sold their Tunica, and Biloxi, Mississippi resorts to the gaming division of Hilton Hotels, with the combined assets being spun off to create a new corporation called Park Place Entertainment (later renamed Caesars Entertainment).

In 2005, Caesars Entertainment was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment, which converted back to the Caesars Entertainment name in 2010. In the Tunica market, Caesars also operates Horseshoe Casino Tunica and Tunica Roadhouse Casino & Hotel (formerly Sheraton). The three properties share management and player marketing operations.

Previous Harrah's Casinos in Tunica

The current Harrah's is the third casino in Tunica Resorts to bear the name Harrah's. The previous Harrah's Tunica was designed by Steelman Partners. The first was located just off Casino Strip Blvd., several miles south of the former Grand, and was the first casino to open in that area. In 1996, Harrah's acquired the shuttered Southern Belle Casino, approximately 500 yards (450 m) away from the first Harrah's. The company operated both casinos as Harrah's for a short time, calling the second property "Harrah's Mardi Gras." Eventually, Harrah's sold the original property to Isle of Capri Casinos, who operated it as "Isle of Capri Tunica" for a short time before closing it.

With the sale of Caesars to Harrah's in 2004, the combined companies were forced to sell two properties to avoid owning five of the nine casinos in the Tunica market. The remaining Harrah's was sold, along with Bally's Casino Tunica, to Colony Capital, and Harrah's was renamed Resorts Casino Tunica.

References

Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Arizona

Harrah's Ak-Chin

California

Harrah's Resort Southern California

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Bluegrass Downs
Turfway Park (50%)

Louisiana

Maryland

Horseshoe Baltimore

Mississippi

Biloxi: Harrah's Gulf Coast
Tunica: Horseshoe; Tunica Roadhouse

Missouri

Harrah's North Kansas City

Nevada

Lake Tahoe: Harrah's; Harveys
Las Vegas: Bally's; Caesars Palace; Cromwell; Flamingo; Harrah's; The Linq; O'Sheas; Paris; Planet Hollywood; Rio
Laughlin: Harrah's
Reno: Harrah's
Golf Courses: Rio Secco

New Jersey

Atlantic City: Bally's; Caesars; Harrah's; Showboat (closed); Wild Wild West

North Carolina

Harrah's Cherokee

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Harrah's Philadelphia

International

United Kingdom: London Clubs International
Macau: Caesars Golf Macau
Ontario: Caesars Windsor
Uruguay: Conrad Resort and Casino

Programs

Defunct Assets

Casinos	Bill's Casino Lake Tahoe Bourbon Street Caesars Palace at Sea Harrah's Tunica

Brands	LuckyMe

Programs	Connection Card

City of Memphis and Memphis metropolitan area (counties in TN, MS and AR)

Topics

Districts

Neighborhoods

Metro area
landmarks

Tennessee	A. Schwab's Art Museum of the University of Memphis AutoZone Stadium Bartlett Museum Beale Street Bellevue Baptist Church Belz Museum Botanic Garden Brooks Museum Burkle Estate Central Station Chickasaw Bluff Children's Museum Chucalissa Museum Cotton Museum Davies Manor Dixon Gallery and Gardens Downtown Trolleys Elmwood Cemetery FedExForum Fire Museum Fort Assumption Fort Wright Graceland Hernando de Soto Bridge Liberty Bowl Stadium Libertyland Lichterman Nature Center Lincoln American Tower Magevney House Mallory-Neely House Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Memorial Park Cemetery Cotton Exchange Memphis International Airport Motorsports Park National Cemetery Parkway System Railroad & Trolley Museum Memphis Zoo Mississippi River Mississippi River Park Mud Island Monorail National Civil Rights Museum National Ornamental Metal Museum Oaklawn Garden Orpheum Theatre Overton Park Peabody Hotel Pink Palace The Pyramid Rhodes College Rock N' Soul Museum St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral Shelby Farms Stax Museum Sun Studio South Main Arts District Temple Israel Tennessee Brewery Tipton County Museum T. O. Fuller State Park Tom Lee Park Union Station University of Memphis Victorian Village Wolf River

Mississippi	Arkabutla Lake Bally's Casino BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove DeSoto County Museum Lander's Center Gold Strike Casino Holly Springs National Forest Horseshoe Casino Mississippi River Resorts Casino Tunica Sam's Town Gambling Hall Southaven Towne Center Tunica Resorts Snowden Grove Park Tanger Outlets Southaven Tunica Roadhouse Casino Wall Doxey State Park

Arkansas	Horseshoe Lake Mississippi River Southland Greyhound Park Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Metro area
suburbs

Tennessee	Arlington Atoka Bartlett Collierville Covington Germantown Lakeland Millington Munford Northaven Oakland Piperton Somerville Shelby Forest

Mississippi	Byhalia Hernando Holly Springs Horn Lake Olive Branch Senatobia Southaven Tunica Robinsonville/Tunica Resorts Walls

Arkansas	Earle Marion West Memphis

Metro area
counties

Tennessee	Shelby Fayette Tipton

Mississippi	DeSoto Marshall Tate Tunica

Arkansas	Crittenden

Coordinates: 34°51′20″N 90°17′40″W / 34.855613°N 90.294544°W / 34.855613; -90.294544

External links

Harrah's Online Casino Website

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