Island View Casino

History

The Island View is the successor to the Copa Casino, which was first located on a docked cruise ship and then a barge-based building at the Mississippi State Docks, across U.S. Highway 90 (Beach Blvd.) from the current location. The Copa and its neighbor, Grand Casino Gulfport, were both destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. When Grand Casino's parent Harrah's Entertainment decided not to rebuild, it sold the Grand site to Copa owners Rick Carter and Terry Green. When Mississippi legislators changed casino laws to permit new casinos to be built on dry land, the duo used the Grand's former hotel as a temporary casino for Phase I of their redevelopment. Currently the Island View Casino is the only casino left in Gulfport after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The new facility (Phase I) opened on September 18, 2006, with 1,033 video poker and slot machines and 15 table games, a 350-seat Island View buffet, C&G Grille, and a 563-room hotel.

Phase II was completed on May 14, 2007, adding more gaming space, as well as, Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House and a new multi-level parking garage.

In June 2010, Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House closed and was replaced by Carter Green Steakhouse.

In May 2008, Island View Casino opened a 9 table, 24-hour poker room, but the poker room closed in 2010 and was replaced by a slot tournament area.

In December 2009, a 24-hour Coffee Shop opened.

Additional improvements have included a new players club program (Island View Insider), a website for player use, and a guest swimming pool, which opened in 2011.

Another amenity includes the Windance Country Club, an 18-hole championship golf course located in Gulfport.

In April 2015, Island View Casino opened its Beach Tower hotel complex, which increased its accommodations to 970 guest rooms. The Beach Tower is located south of U.S. Route 90 in the former Grand Casino Gulfport property. Beach Tower amenities include seven food and beverage venues, spa, fitness center, gift shop, saltwater pool, and meeting facilities. Construction of a $75-million casino next to the Beach Tower began in May 2017 and was designed by architect Edward Vance of EV&A Architects. The casino was completed in June 2018.

References

References

1. [http://www.islandviewcasino.com/news/ivcr10carterGreenSteakhouseOpen.pdf Carter Green Steakhouse] Retrieved 2012-06-10
2. [http://www.golfcoast.com/-windance-country-club Windance Country Club]
3. [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/island-view-casino-resort-opens-58-million-beach-tower-hotel-in-gulfport-miss-300074396.html Island View Casino Resort opens $58 million beach tower hotel in Gulfport, Miss.] Retrieved 2015-06-13
4. Mary Perez. (June 13, 2018). "Here's an exclusive first look at Island View's new Beach Casino". The Sun Herald.
5. Mary Perez. (June 21, 2018). "It's a big day for Mississippi Coast casinos. Here are 3 reasons why.". The Sun Herald.