CONTACT: Patrick Collins
Patrick@mmgmemphis.com
901-219-9944
Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association
State of the Industry Annual Report and
25-Year Celebration Logo Released
Celebrating 25 years of operation, the Mississippi gaming industry generated $4.4 billion in economic impact in 2016 supporting an estimated 21,250 direct Mississippi jobs
JACKSON, Miss., January 25, 2017 – The Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association released the State of the Industry Annual Report along with a commemorative 25-year industry celebration logo today, Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Highlights of the report are included below. The full report is available on the MGHA website here: http://msgaming.org/industry-info/gaming-reports/.
The Mississippi gaming industry began in 1992 with a single riverboat in Biloxi. It has grown into a well-capitalized economic sustainer during the past 25 years and is a vital part of the overall tourism industry. In 2016, the Mississippi Development Authority – Tourism (MDA Tourism) office reported 23 million out-of-state visitors, while the casinos reported 14.2 million out-of-state visitors in the same period. This translates into an estimated 62 percent of out-of-state visitors who take time to visit a casino in Mississippi.
“2016 marks the third year of revenue growth along the Gulf Coast, which has led our overall state gaming revenues to increase each of the past three years. While the operators along the Mississippi River have not had the revenue growth that has been seen along the Gulf Coast, the operators continue to reinvest in their operations and in their communities and continue to make a positive impact, accounting for thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue,” said Lee Dillard, MGHA Chairperson.
Highlights from the MGHA 2016 Annual Report
- 2016 marked the beginning of the 25th year of gaming in Mississippi. Gaming tax revenue generated by Mississippi casinos is set to reach $6.5 billion by the industry’s 25th anniversary in 2017 — enough to fund the entire state budget for a single year.
- In 2016, the Mississippi gaming industry supported an estimated 21,250 direct jobs with a payroll exceeding $686 million with benefits of more than $207 million, for a total of $893 million. When taking into account the Native American gaming in Mississippi, payroll and benefits exceeded $927 million.
- In 2016, the gaming industry celebrated new projects and developments, including millions spent by operators on hotel and casino renovations, new restaurants and capital improvements, as well as Margaritaville Hotel & Resort that opened in Biloxi (a non-gaming venue). The industry generated $776 million in non-gaming revenue, a .4 percent increase over prior year.
- Several more non-gaming developments are planned for the future, including a Galleria outdoor mall in D’Iberville, an aquarium in Gulfport, new hotel developments in Biloxi, a Sportsplex in Vicksburg, an outdoor entertainment venue in Tunica and more.
- Isle of Capri Biloxi had the distinction of being the first dockside riverboat casino to open in the United States, on Aug. 1, 1992. In 2016, almost 25 years later, Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. announced the sale of its assets to Eldorado Resorts Inc. for $1.7 billion.
- In September 2016, the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) recognized Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, as Regulator of the Year for North America.
- In 2016, the state of Mississippi began receiving the settlement funds stemming from the Deepwater Oil Horizon tragedy that occurred in April 2010. In 2016, Mississippi received $150 million. Overall, the settlement will bring more than $1.5 billion to the state over the next 17 years with $40 million to be paid each year from 2019 through 2033.
- In 2016, the Mississippi Legislature passed HB 1074 and created the Economic Development Infrastructure Fund (EDI Fund). The legislature also appropriated $2.5 million to the EDI Fund (from the BP Settlement) to promote air service to eligible regional airports in the state.
- Looking forward to 2017, Mississippi leaders are urged to continue supporting improvements in air service and other amenities to keep the Mississippi gaming and tourism markets attractive and accessible.
About the MGHA 25-Year Logo
The Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association, whose mission it is to enhance the reputation and success of the gaming industry within the State of Mississippi, could see no other option by to declare 2017 a year of celebration for our industry and our state.
We have created a graphic to help MGHA, as well as our member partners, celebrate in a strongly branded way, and so we present to you the official graphic for the celebration. The following pages provide you with some guidelines to help your creativity.
But first a few things about how we developed this look and feel.
First, let’s talk about colors. If you look closely, we are paying homage to our own state flag by taking those proud and true colors but giving them a bit of a contemporary tone which we think will read well in any application.
Second, we wanted the graphic to have the look of accomplishment, thus the award seal background it sits on. The years stamped alongside the state drawing remind us a bit of the year stamp on the coin, small but there to commemorate the occasion.
We hope that you and everyone touched by our industry will take pride in being a part of the success story that is Mississippi Gaming.
About The Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association
The Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association (MGHA) was chartered in 1993 and works in cooperation with the American Gaming Association in Washington, D.C. As of this report, all of the 28 commercial casinos operating in Mississippi are members of MGHA and there are approximately 50 associate members made up of other associations, professional service providers and vendors that support the gaming, hospitality and tourism industry — the fourth largest industry in Mississippi. The association advocates for policies that would allow Mississippi’s commercial casino operators to stay strong and to support the state’s $6.3 billion gaming, hospitality and tourism industry with gaming accounting for nearly $3 billion. The goal of the association is to ensure our industry remains competitive and strong and continues to be a healthy contributor to the state’s overall economy. With that in mind, MGHA has through collaboration come up with recommendations to support this goal:
- Encourage resort-style casino developments in Mississippi through tourism incentive programs. Tourism-related activities should include well-capitalized gaming resort projects and encourage other non-gaming amenities.
- Avoid policies that single out gaming from the tourism industry or puts an unfair burden upon the gaming industry.
- Maintain Mississippi’s stable gaming regulatory environment.
- Invest in post-secondary curricula that will provide residents with the training and education needed to have an immediate impact on Mississippi’s $6.3 billion tourism industry and make the state’s workforce more competitive.
- Continue to support the state’s and the industry’s initiatives to combat problem gambling.
