At the Spring Break Poker Classic 2009, the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino delivered packed cash games, strong fields and a vivid lesson in poker fluctuation.

At the first WPT event of the year in Biloxi, reporters David Sasseman and Anne McDonald experienced packed fields, big prize money and nonstop poker action.

Biloxi, MS (January 17, 2009) – Poker commonly uses boxing metaphors. All poker players know what it’s like to “step into the ring.” The very best players can “take a punch.” The goal of every tournament player is to “go the distance.” And the sweetest poker victory comes when delivering the “knockout punch.” On January 17th, Beau Rivage Casino & Resort, perched on the shores of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, hosted two enormously popular sporting events -- a World Poker Tour championship and a Don King world title prize fight.

Biloxi, MS (January 8, 2009) – Event #7 was won by a professional player, Russ Salzer, who collected in his third major tournament since 2000. He was heads-up against second place Yuebin Guo who had a much smaller chip stack and it was only a matter of time before the bitter end. Salzer is 49 years of age, was 29th in the 2005 WSOP Championship and has also collected over USD 820,000 in career tournament winnings.

Biloxi, MS (January 7, 2009) – University of Texas student Michael Benvenuti won USD 63,898 at the fourth event of the 2009 Southern Poker Championship. Benvenuti is a fifth year college student majoring in neurobiology.

Biloxi, MS (January 4, 2009) – The World Poker Tour (WPT) started this year in Biloxi Mississippi USA and it promises to be an exciting success. Event #1 (of 15 Events) had a turn out of 1005 entries. The alternates were lined up out the door. But poker managers, Ken Lambert, Johnny Grooms, Eric Comer, and Shawn Johnson got it going in grand style.

Biloxi - When Hurricane Katrina hit, Biloxi was the only Coast city with business interruption insurance to protect it from loss of casino revenue. The city has held onto that insurance, but won't collect from the temporary casino closures for Hurricane Gustav. The city's insurance specialist, Wayne Tisdale, told the council that the casinos lost revenue estimated at USD 11.3 million or more.

Coast casinos' move onshore after Hurricane Katrina spared them from serious damage during Hurricane Gustav. Mississippi Gaming Commission Executive Director Larry Gregory is receiving reports from each of the 11 casinos and will make the decision to reopen when it is safe. Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi got about two feet of water in the swimming pool and in the lobby, said General Manager Duncan McKenzie.

Biloxi --It's been years since a camera was allowed into a surveillance room at a Mississippi casino. But last week the Mississippi Gaming Commission and Beau Rivage Casino showed the Sun Herald what it takes to crack an international cheating ring and why the government is partnering with casinos for homeland security. The Sun Herald also interviewed "John Doe," an undercover special agent for the MGC, who identified how the Tran Organization cheated at least 16 casinos in the United States and Canada...

Biloxi --The focus will be different for this year's Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi next week, switching from the rebuilding of the industry that has dominated the annual meeting since Hurricane Katrina to navigating the economy in 2008. "There's a lot of uncertainty out there right now," said Cathy Beeding, vice president and general counsel at Island View Casino and a panelist for the opening presentation, "Decision 2008: What's at Stake for Gaming?"

A Harrison County judge has ruled a Biloxi woman did not win the USD 1 million jackpot she claimed at the IP Casino. The ruling this week by Circuit Judge Roger Clark overturned a Mississippi Gaming Commission decision that sided with Florida Eash in her dispute with the casino. The IP Casino argued Eash was owed only USD 8,000 - the top winning amount showed on the machine's sign. The casino said a technician for International Game Technology mistakenly programmed the slot machine to be a stand-alone progressive.

Biloxi, Mississippi (AP) - The highway along the Mississippi Gulf Coast would be forlorn if not for the casinos, which are having their best year ever. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has proven to be little more than a temporary setback to the conversion of formerly sleepy beachfront communities into the Las Vegas of the Deep South. Although affordable housing is scarce and businesses have trouble getting insurance coverage to rebuild since the storm, 11 casinos are open in Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Lakeshore.