There will likely be plenty of stories, smiles and reminiscences shared Thursday night when the Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association inducts its inaugural class into the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame.
Casino gambling came to Mississippi 25 years ago and has met with such success that local leaders in the industry suggested that a hall of fame should be created to honor those who helped advance the cause. Seven people will be honored at a gala dinner at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, which has been host to the Southern Gaming Summit this week.
“This first class of inductees to the Mississippi Gaming Hall of Fame truly played crucial roles in the development of our industry in the state,” said Larry Gregory, executive director of the MGHA. “Without any one of these gentlemen, there might not have been an industry, or at least not one as successful as we see today. We’re proud to recognize them as the initial members of the Hall.”
The honorees, with their qualifications documented via press release, are:
Lyle Berman, co-founder of Grand Casinos, who not only played a role in the development of Mississippi gaming but also played a major role in the development of Indian gaming in Minnesota;
Bernie Goldstein, founder of the Isle of Capri Casinos (named for a small island off the coast of Biloxi), who opened the first casino riverboat on the Gulf Coast;
William S. Boyd, executive chairman of Boyd Gaming, who came east from Las Vegas to develop a casino named after his father – Sam’s Town, in Tunica – and who also helped to develop Indian gaming in Mississippi;
Tommy Gollott, then and now a member of the Mississippi State Senate from Harrison County, who was instrumental in writing and promoting the legislation that approved casino gaming in the state, especially the dockside element;
Jack Binion, who, like Boyd, is the son of a gaming legend, who recognized the potential for gaming in the south, and whose Horseshoe casino in Tunica quickly became the most successful casino in the state; and
Rick Carter and Terry Green, two local developers who figured out how to make the most of the new industry, opened the Copa casino in a converted cruise ship in the early 1990s, and who now own the Island View Casino Resort.
More information at SouthernGamingSummit.com.
