OT: Sam’s Town Casino Tunica closing.
- Thread starter DesotoCountyDawg
- Start date
I haven't been there in forever but I've heard that a lot of them have become ghost towns. Apparently Southland in West Memphis is taking a lot of business from Tunica.
Back in the early 90s many speculated Southland might not survive.
As a dog track, it didn't. But they adapted and overcame.
The only one that ever looks like it’s busy is Goldstrike. They made a huge sports bar in there to go along with their sportsbook. Everything else is very sparse.
They are killing it now. It’s a full blown casino and it’s 5 minutes from Downtown Memphis.
Surprised it made it this long. I was there pre Covid to just swing in for lunch at the buffet. The outside hotel part was abandoned with weeds growing up around it, the parking garage had spaces open as soon as you entered the garage, the inside walkway to the casino floor had leaks from the ceiling, and it smelled musty. Looked like it was about to close 6 years ago.
All because ASU wouldn’t stay at a casino? How awful
The recession and then the 2011 floods did them in. It’s been death by a thousand cuts since then. Now that Southland is robbing their Memphis business it’s over.
Those floods hurt them a lot more than a lot of people realize. It never really came back from that. But for a while they were blowing & going. Tunica Airport had 3rd most passengers in the state. Casinos were flying two full 737s in and out every day.
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It's my fault, they've been open 31 years and I never made it by there. I guess I'm the reason they're closing..............
Just another idiotic endeavor by influence decision makers in MS. What if the Tunica investment had been made on the Coast, to go along with what is already there, in an area with some real staying power?
I never thought Tunica could support more than 2-3 casinos before Southland converted to a casino.
Hmmmm. Gee. Maybe something called the free market?
The state government didn’t restrict which area of the state could have casinos.
Originally, they could only be on water. Then they changed the law and other casinos popped up.
The Tunica concept was a good one originally and they had a ton of success for a few years. But now casinos are more commonplace and folks looking for that have other options.
Meanwhile, I have to attend an event in Tunica soon. There's not much there. I'm hoping some of the casino restaurants are decent. Open to recommendations?
But it wasn’t idiotic. At the time that the casinos were built in Tunica, most of the states to the north did not have casinos or riverboat gambling, so it was a huge draw to get people from Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas to come and gamble at Tunica. Once you saw those states open up their laws to allow riverboat gambling or casinos there was a big decline, and then the recession and flood finished off their profits.
There used to be so many out of state vehicles that filled the parking lots.
Blue & White in Tunica for lunch. Hollywood Cafe just off the first of 3 casino roads in Robinsonville for dinner. I’d stay away from casino restaurants. If you’re there during the week most of them will be closed anyway.
edit: there’s also a decent Mexican restaurant on Hwy 61 north just as you’re getting out of tunica.
The whole Tunica area is just sad now. The quality of service at all the casinos has gone down tremendously as well. The wife and I would spend a Sunday afternoon usually at Sam's Town or the Hollywood about once a month. We quit going before covid because they cut the number of table games by almost half and the restaurants and buffets had gotten horrible (both service and food).
We went to a concert a few months ago and it had gotten even worse. The bigest thing I noticed was, it was warm outside but not teribly hot and it was probaly 80 degreese inside the Horseshoe casino floor and the concert hall was even hotter. The singer even said something about it being hot in there. I told my wife that it was a sign the casino were not doing well because they couldn't even afford to run the AC.
We went to a concert a few months ago and it had gotten even worse. The bigest thing I noticed was, it was warm outside but not teribly hot and it was probaly 80 degreese inside the Horseshoe casino floor and the concert hall was even hotter. The singer even said something about it being hot in there. I told my wife that it was a sign the casino were not doing well because they couldn't even afford to run the AC.
Hollywood Cafe in Robinsonville
Blue and White in Tunica
i’m not sure what is left in the casinos that’s worth eating. I haven’t been out there to eat in years.
if you feel like driving a little further, go eat at The Parish in Hernando
I wonder how much online betting has depressed the cassina business.
I was in Vegas (aka Hell on Earth) a few weeks ago and the crowds were noticeably light. Was talking to a manager in Paris who said the California people are blaming the current political climate but he thinks the business is going online.
Me?... I don't think the $23 mojito I had after the $47 burger helps their cause much either.
I was in Vegas (aka Hell on Earth) a few weeks ago and the crowds were noticeably light. Was talking to a manager in Paris who said the California people are blaming the current political climate but he thinks the business is going online.
Me?... I don't think the $23 mojito I had after the $47 burger helps their cause much either.
I think it’s a generational thing. Younger people just have different interests just like other forms of entertainment that seem to be dying a slow death.
I have been to Vegas four times this year for business conferences. Some areas of the strip, particularly on the south end, are seeing some pretty serious dropoff. The last time I was there I stayed in Mandalay and was able to get one of their big suites for a couple hundred bucks a night.
The north end of the strip though? Wynn, Encore, Fountainbleu, Venetian, Bellagio, even some of the lower tiered ones like Treasure Island were absolute zoos.
Re: Vegas - took the kids to the Grand Canyon in '24 and flew into Vegas and used it as a base of operations. One night we'd had a long day, got back to the Venetian and thought we'd just grab a quick burger from one of the non-fancy places on our way up to the room, and it was like $125 for 3 burgers/fries/drinks. All the nicer, sit-down places we ate in were closer to $200 for 1 adult and 2 kids. I've got plenty of vices, but gambling ain't one of them, so it's fine with me if I never go back to Vegas/Tunica/any casinah again.
We went to Las Vegas in April after about a five year hiatus. I was absolutely floored by the food and drink prices. When coffee from Starbucks is the most economical thing you can purchase then there is a problem.
I believe they did both the coast and Tunica at the same time. Before that, the coast looked like Galveston circa 1953.
Biggest crowd I have seen since pre-Covid this year in Vegas on the north end. Yes a total zoo, people everywhere.
I understand all that, I went there some in the hey day.
The issue with Tunica is that there was no draw beyond the casinos. If there had been just a little bit of regional cooperation, we might could have a big casino area that would be thriving today instead of a ghost town like Tunica. If say, Natchez or Vicksburg had gotten that development, could have been incredible. Had the river plus the historical towns. And obviously the Coast, being on the Gulf, could be even bigger than now. That's the point I'm making. Not to mention the other investments in infrastructure, like that new airport.
I know Tunica did well for about 20 years, I don't dispute that. I just wish it (or somewhere) hadn't lost all that to other areas that offer more. Personally I'm still wondering how the Philadelphia casinos are still in business, close enough to Alabama I guess.
Yeah they did. I just wish we had put some effort into making another area the casino boom area, rather than Tunica.
Oh I assure you there were all sorts of plans for entertainment, retail, and residential. It just never took off. And once these investors saw the declines in business the money dried up. A NASCAR track, a water park, fairgrounds, whole neighborhoods, a mall, etc. It was all on the table.
Hell, there were rumors of expanding the Tunica airport and bringing Southwest in there. The story I heard was that the Memphis airport put a stop to it.
Somewhat like the Jackson City Council's attempt to shake down SWA several years. SWA just told them no thanks and pulled out of Jackson.
It was very close. AirTran was flying out of there for a couple of years as was Allegent was too with a deal with the casinos.
They are still doing roughly the same bid'niss as usual. They survive on 500lb 50 year olds pulling oxygen tanks and wearin' Bama gear gambling away their disability checks.
Seems like just yesterday I was racing down 61 to hit the coldest blackjack tables in the South.