Less than two months after the layoffs of 570 employees at the Golden Moon Hotel and Casino, Pearl River Resort has laid off at least 63 more. The most recent layoffs included employees of both the Golden Moon and the Silver Star Hotel and Casino. The layoffs included all levels of employees, not just hourly workers. "We're in a depression, so we have to do what we have to do," said Warren Strain, a Pearl River Resort spokesperson.

Jackson, Mississippi -- A Mississippi woman thought she had won a slot machine jackpot when a display lit up USD 1 million, but the casino says the maximum payout was clearly posted: USD 8,000. Florida Eash, of Biloxi, took her fight over the jackpot amount to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, arguing that she won USD 1 million. Attorneys for IP Casino said a programming mistake caused the machine to register an erroneous USD 1 million jackpot.

After 15 years along the Mississippi River as an icon of the East St. Louis waterfront and home to one of the earliest gambling establishments in the region, the Casino Queen riverboat departed Monday under new ownership. Branson-based Cedar Bay Entertainment, which specializes in family entertainment, bought the 19th-century, four-story side-wheeler for an undisclosed amount.

Harrison County - A new casino could open in western Harrison County if Blue Water Bay Resort and Casino gets the blessing of the Mississippi Gaming Commission on Thursday. The site on the east side of Bay St. Louis between Pass Christian and DeLisle was previously approved by the Gaming Commission. Now that onshore casinos are permitted within 800 feet of the mean high water line...

Biloxi, Mississippi (AP) -- All 11 of Mississippi's coastal casinos and one in Natchez have been given permission to reopen. Eddie Williams, deputy director of the state Gaming Commission, says one casino on the coast needs a few days to recover from Hurricane Gustav. Silver Slipper in Hancock County had damage to coolers and freezers on the first level.

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.

Jackson, Mississippi (AP) -- Mississippi's 11 Gulf Coast casinos are preparing this Labor Day weekend for Tropical Storm Gustav, three years after Hurricane Katrina turned several of the massive casino barges and hotels into waterlogged heaps of rumble. The 12 casinos operating along the coast on Aug. 29, 2005, were either flooded or carried away by Katrina's powerful winds and storm surge. It was several months before the first one reopened.

Faced with uncertainty about the future of the economy, Harrah’s announced last month that it has slowed construction on the USD 700 Margaritaville Casino and Resort on the beach in east Biloxi. Along the Mississippi coast, however, a muted optimism prevails. MGM Mirage, said earlier it had laid off 100 people between the Biloxi and Tunica County properties.

Faced with uncertainty about the future of the economy, Harrah's announced last month that it has slowed construction on the USD 700 Margaritaville Casino and Resort on the beach in east Biloxi. MGM Mirage, parent company of the nearby Beau Rivage, said earlier this spring it had laid off 100 people between the Biloxi and Tunica County properties. As consumers' expendable income shrinks with the rising cost of food and gas...

Biloxi, Mississippi (AP) - Developers of the Gold Coast casino in Biloxi are asking the Mississippi Gaming Commission to approve a definition of the mean high tide water line that will make their inland casino site legal. A 2005 law allowed Gulf Coast casinos - in the wake of devastation of Hurricane Katrina - to rebuild 800 feet onshore. RW Development, led by Ray Wooldridge, owner of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets...

New Orleans - A sluggish economy and record gasoline prices are keeping travelers closer to home and off the gambling floor at Southern casinos, an industry analyst said last week. Mississippi's state-licensed casinos saw a 19.4 percent drop in winnings from March to April, while Louisiana's state-licensed casinos recorded a 7.2 percent drop, according to state regulatory agencies.

Mississippi could lose millions of dollars and thousands of jobs because of impending casino expansions in Florida, according to a recent analysis by a legislative watchdog group. So the state's gaming industry is taking steps to counter the competition. And some lawmakers are pushing a bill that would give tax breaks for casinos that want to build tourist attractions to woo non-gamers. Floridians represented 21.2 percent of visitors to Mississippi's 29 casinos in 2007, according to a memo issued by the Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review.