Beau Rivage Poker Tournament Marks Complete Recovery from Hurricane Katrina

The Gulf Coast Poker Championship, a 10-event tournament series at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage got underway Thursday, August 30. Six no-limit hold’em tournaments with buy-ins at $300 and $500 comprised the preliminary events. On September 6 a three-day $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour event begins and will run through September 9.

It also marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which decimated an estimated 90 percent of Biloxi’s buildings. The Beau Rivage is a four-diamond property that’s been recognized by both Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure as one of the top resorts in the country. It is a spectacular destination resort that’s made a remarkable recovery from Katrina’s devastation.

Gulf Coast casinos recorded gaming revenue of $1.7 billion during the first seven months of 2007, and are completely recovered from Hurricane Katrina. In fact, July revenues fell only $100,000 short of their record month of July, 2002, when Gulf Coast casinos brought in $266.3 million.

Katrina also changed building regulations in Mississippi. Before the storm, a casino floor had to be a “riverboat,” which meant a floating pavilion, or a moored barge. Legislators realized that casinos had to be land-based to be safe and viable, and this law change allows bigger casinos to be constructed.