The History of Tunica Casinos
The banks of the Mississippi River have long been known as areas of gambling, even before the legislative decision to allow casinos. From New Orleans to St. Louis and beyond, gambling tales have been popularized by such notable American icons as Mark Twain. The Tunica region had long been an impoverished place, with high unemployment and infant mortality rates, when the decision was made to allow casino gambling to improve the economy of the area.
Despite a common misconception, there are no actual casinos in the city of Tunica, Mississippi. All the casinos are located in an unincorporated part of Tunica county and that is why the name is used. The city of Tunica is very tiny, with less than 1,500 residents. However, the city has benefited very much from the appearance of the casinos.
The Very Beginnings
In the early 1990’s, Mississippi legislators passed a bill that would allow casino corporations to establish locations in a specified area of the Tunica region. The first gambling operations set up shop in a place known as Mhoon Landing and were largely unsuccessful. These businesses, including Tunica Splash, the first Tunica casino, eventually closed up shop as new properties established locations closer to the city of Memphis, Tennessee.
These casinos were originally labelled under the Robinsonville moniker, but this was quickly changed to Tunica to avoid confusion with the location of the casinos. With the advent of these casinos, the unincorporated region around the casinos experienced a rampant population growth as people moved into the area. In addition to the casinos, other businesses have quickly sprouted, including retail stores, hotels, and restaurants. This growth is only expected to continue accompanied by the rise in popularity of gambling and poker.
Modern Times in Tunica
While the majority of casinos in Mississippi were drastically affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the properties in Tunica were largely unharmed. In fact, the region experienced a bittersweet boom as employees and families were forced to relocate from coastal casinos inland after the destruction experienced by the hurricane. The rebuilding process of both Biloxi and New Orleans has taken quite a bit of time, thus giving the casinos in Tunica County extra visitors wanting to gamble.
Currently, Tunica is the third largest United States gaming area and has had an amazing impact on the surrounding economy. There are nine casino properties, including the following casinos: Bally’s Casino Tunica, Fitzgerald’s, Gold Strike, Harrah’s, Hollywood, Horseshoe, Resorts, Sam’s Town, and the Sheraton Casino. Unemployment rates have been drastically reduced and public education has been greatly improved as additional funds have drifted into local economies.
The area of the casinos is currently trying to incorporate into a separate township, meaning that residents of this particular part of Tunica would be the full beneficiaries of the tax revenue instead of the money being filtered to all the cities of the region. This is a controversial issue as it could severely hamper the growth of the actual cities of Tunica, Robinsonville, and others located nearby.