By Ken Paul Mink



BILOXI, MS. -- America's most disastrous hurricane, Katrina, has come and gone from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, leaving a trail of billions of dollars in damage -- but the region is bouncing back with a vengeance, especially the waterfront casinos here.

In fact, at least one -- the 32-story IP Casino Resort & Spa -- has upgraded everything about its operation, including more than doubling the staff to about 2,800.

The IP has just achieved a four-diamond rating from AAA, a rare and lofty position for a casino outside Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

Robert Brigham, vice-president of hotel operations for the IP, said the IP "is making strides toward being one of the best casino hotels in the country" and on post-hurricane improvements. "Our restaurants, spa, gym facilities, swimming pools and our gambling venues are among the best you can find anywhere," he said.

Brigham has more than 20 years in hotel and casino management and came to Biloxi from a management position at a major casino hotel in Las Vegas.

"Probably the biggest thing that sold me on taking this job was the can-do spirit of the employees, who were just coming off the state's biggest natural disaster," said Brigham.

The hotel has 1,088 rooms and suites, free wireless Internet access, a six-screen theater center offering first-run movies and an 2,300-vehicle parking garage (plus plenty of free surface parking). Many small frame homes in the casino area were swept away by Katrina, leaving empty lots.

The hotel and casino restaurants, lounges and the 70,000-square-feet gambling area offer a very pleasing atmosphere with professional lighting and outstanding decor.

The gambling area covers three floors and encompasses 52 live table games (including a large poker room) and more than 1,900 slot and video games.

While the IP has made great strides in its reopening, other Biloxi casinos have made triumphant returns as well.

The Beau Rivage rebuilt bigtime, investing tons of money (officially calling its new operation the area's first billion dollar casino/hotel operation).

Beau Rivage has about 3,800 employees, 93 table games, 2,100 slots, 38 video poker games and a new poker room with its own bank of safe-deposit boxes for gamblers. The poker room features leather inlay on the walls and onyx flourishes. "The goal was to really create the most elite and most beautiful card room that the South had ever seen," said Ken Lambert Jr., director of poker operations in Mississippi for MGM Mirage. "We also designed this room for customer service. We didn't go cheap on anything. All the countertops are solid onyx."

The Beau Rivage, built at a cost of $800 million by famed Las Vegas hotel/casino magnate Steve Wynn, had $550 million more invested in it by MGM Mirage after Hurricane Katrina. The Beau Rivage has 1,740 guest rooms and suites.

A half-dozen other casinos are also up and running full-time with major improvements. These include the Isle of Capri, the Palace, Treasure Bay, Boomtown, Grand Biloxi and The Hollywood Casino (formerly Casino Magic Bay St. Louis). The Island View Casino in Gulfport opened last fall and the nearby (Hancock County) Silver Slipper in October.

For information on the IP Hotel Casino call 800-634-6441 or for information on any of the hotels/casinos or Gult Coast area of Mississippi visit the web site www.gulf-coast.com

This story was published on 11 May 2007.