1st Jackpot Casino Tunica (formerly Bally's) is a
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
and former hotel in
. It is owned by
Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by
Penn Entertainment
Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 14 jurisd ...
. The casino has of gaming space, with 899 slot machines and 16 table games.
History
Bally's Saloon & Gambling Hall was originally opened on December 6, 1993, at
Mhoon Landing
Mhoon Landing is an unincorporated community located on the Mississippi River in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) northwest of North Tunica and approximately 12 miles (19 km) southwest of T ...
by
Bally Manufacturing
Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotel ...
.
In 1994,
Lady Luck Gaming
Lady Luck Gaming Corp. was a gaming company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that developed and operated casinos in the Midwestern and Southern United States. It was acquired by Isle of Capri Casinos in 2000.
History
Company founding and first casin ...
opened its Olympia Hotel in Robinsonville, an area 10 miles north of Mhoon Landing which had emerged as a prime casino site because of its closer proximity to
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
.
Lady Luck began construction of a casino to accompany the hotel, but suspended it later that year because of financial difficulties.
In February 1995, Bally and Lady Luck entered into a joint venture agreement, under which Bally would close its casino and move the barge upriver to dock at Lady Luck's hotel.
Bally would own 58 percent of the combined venture and manage it, with Lady Luck and a local partner owning the rest.
Bally's at Mhoon Landing closed on February 9.
The casino reopened at its new location in Robinsonville (now Tunica Resorts) on December 18, 1995.
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
acquired Bally in 1996 and then purchased Lady Luck's share of Bally's Tunica in 1997 for $15 million. Hilton's gaming division, including Bally's, was spun off in 1998 as
Park Place Entertainment
Park Place Entertainment, later named Caesars Entertainment, Inc., was a casino company based in Paradise, Nevada. For a time it was the largest casino operator in the world. It was formed in 1998 as a corporate spin-off of the gaming division of ...
, later renamed as Caesars Entertainment.
In 2004,
Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...
agreed to purchase Caesars. The deal provoked antitrust concerns in some markets, including Tunica, where the combined company would own 5 out of the 9 casinos in the area. To ensure approval of the merger, Harrah's and Caesars agreed to sell four casinos, including Bally's Tunica and
Harrah's Mardi Gras, to
Colony Capital
DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
. The sale was completed in April 2005. The casino continued using the Bally's name under a licensing agreement. The two properties became part of
Resorts International Holdings
Resorts International Holdings, LLC (RIH), also known as Colony Resorts Holdings (CRH) was an affiliate of Colony NorthStar based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As of 2005, they were the fifth largest gaming company in America under Nick Ribis.
RIH was ...
, a newly formed affiliate of Colony Capital.
In 2011, facing a threat of foreclosure, Resorts International Holdings agreed to hand over ownership of Bally's Tunica and Resorts Tunica (formerly Harrah's) to lenders. Foundation Gaming Group, a company based in
Gulfport, was retained to manage the two properties.
In January 2014, RIH Acquisitions MS II assumed the management of Bally's Tunica and Resorts Tunica.
In May 2017, Bally's and Resorts Tunica were sold in a joint deal, with Gaming & Leisure Properties acquiring their real estate assets for a total of $83 million, and Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment) purchasing the operating assets for a total of $44 million. The casino was renamed in September 2017 to 1st Jackpot Casino Tunica. The hotel was later demolished.
See also
*
List of casinos in Mississippi
This is a list of casinos in Mississippi.
List of casinos
Gallery
File:MississippiCasinoShip90s.jpg, Treasure Bay Casino in the 1990s, before Hurricane Katrina
Golden Moon Casino.jpg, Golden Moon Casino
IslandViewCasinoResortSign.jpg, Isl ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Jackpot Casino Tunica
Casinos in Mississippi
1995 establishments in Mississippi
Casinos in Tunica County, Mississippi
Tourist attractions in Mississippi