Hard Rock Casino approved for Biloxi

The Mississippi Gaming Commission recently approved plans for a $235 million Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Resort next to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi.

The resort will feature a Hard Rock Café, a Hard Rock live performance venue and rock and roll memorabilia, said Joe Billhimer, president and chief operating officer of Premier Entertainment Biloxi LLC, the casino's Biloxi-based developer.

He said salaries and taxes could bring up to $40 million to the local economy. It will be the second largest Hard Rock Casino and will be the coast's 13th casino and its first new casino since the Beau Rivage opened in 1999.

The developers recently gathered $160 million in investments for the project, said Gaming Commissioner Len Blackwell of Gulfport. A formal groundbreaking was held in early February.

The resort will employ about 900 people full-time when it opens in the third quarter of 2005, Billhimer said. About 400 people will be employed in the construction phase.

The casino will feature a 10-story hotel with 304 rooms, a pool with a beach area and a nightclub on the top floor of the hotel. The casino will have a 48,500-sq.-ft. gaming floor with 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games.