Beau Rivage Rises From Hurricane Katrina?s Destruction
Beau Rivage Rises From Hurricane Katrina?s Destruction
Sometimes catastrophe presents a hidden opportunity, though it’s often difficult to realize at the time. From the devastation of Katrina, Biloxi, Mississippi’s Beau Rivage Resort and Casino-Biloxi’s largest employer with a staff of 3,800-reopened bigger and better than ever on August 29, 2006. Originally opened in mid- March 1999 at a cost of $800 million, renovation costs were $550 million.
With all the amenities you’d expect to find in a AAA Four Diamond award winning property that’s recognized by both Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure as one of the top resorts in the country, the 32 story, 3.2 million square foot building with the most table games, guest rooms and meeting space on the Gulf Coast, is as big as you’d expect any Las Vegas casino to be.
Beau Rivage is a destination resort with 1,740 guest rooms and suites, a redesigned casino area, ten restaurants, four lounges and bars, 12 retail venues, a day spa and salon, pool, and convention center with 50,000 square feet of stateof- the-art meeting space.
The resort can accommodate groups of up to 1,800. While it sounds like Las Vegas, it’s abundantly clear upon arrival that you’re not in Nevada at all. Instead of glaring neon, you’re greeted by softer signs, made up of seasonal southern flowers planted in gardens at the edge of Beach Boulevard, and you know you’re in the South.
Beau Rivage’s guest rooms and suites boast contemporary d?cor that includes original artwork along with stunning views of the Mississippi Gulf Coast or Biloxi’s Back Bay. Guestrooms feature double pillow-top mattresses, triple sheeting, 32-inch flat screen TVs, bathrooms accented by Spanish and Grecian marble, hand-finished wood and marble vanities, as well as separate soaking tubs and standalone showers. Warm and vibrant fabrics are employed as both window dressings and canopies for the beds.
For business travelers, or poker playing writers like me, each room offers data ports, multiple telephone lines, and an electronic safe to protect valuables.
Beau Rivage’s renovation includes an 85,000- square-foot casino featuring 93 table games, 2,100 slot machines, and 230 video poker games. There’s a new two-tiered poker room too, with five tables in a special, high-limit area and 11 more tables on the main poker floor.
Poker Manager Ken Lambert spreads a variety of games in the entirely non-smoking, wood-paneled and onyx counter topped, 16-table poker room, from $4-$8 limit hold’em up through $20- $40. No-limit hold’em games range from $1-$2 through $10-$20, and on most weekends you’ll find a $15-$30 Omaha/8 game as well as $5-$10 or $10- $25 pot-limit Omaha action. Tournaments at the $60 and $125 buy-in level are offered regularly, and a $200 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament is held the first weekend of each month.
You can have food delivered to you right at the poker table, keep your chips and money in safety deposit boxes located in the poker room cashier’s cage, and hotel accommodations can be booked at special rates directly through the poker room, by calling Donna, at 228.386.7254.
The Gulf Coast Poker Championship, a World Poker Tour event, is slated for summer’s end. Satellites begin on August 29, and the $10,000 buyin World Poker Tour nolimit hold’em event starts September 6 and runs four days.
Beau Rivage also features a luxurious highstakes area that’s really a casino within a casino and includes a high-limit lounge with 10 blackjack tables and one interchangeable roulette/baccarat table, a high-limit slot room with 100 slot machines, an exclusive buffet and bar lounge, dedicated cashier services, private restrooms, and round-the-clock concierge service.
Headline entertainers appear at the Mississippi Gulf Coast nearly every weekend, and have included Jay Leno, Tony Bennett, Sinbad, The Beach Boys, Kenny G., Rodney Carrington, LeAnn Rimes, Boyz II Men, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Bolton, Kenny Rogers, Howie Mandel and the Temptations.
Ten onsite restaurants include:
& Barbeque - Hot barbeque, house-smoked chicken, fried delta catfish and deliciously tempting Southern desserts
A 12,000-square-foot clubhouse resembles an Acadian-style mansion and presents panoramic views ofthe 9th and 18th holes. Beau Rivage offers a number of signature boutiques, a day spa featuring more than 70 massage therapists, aestheticians, cosmetologists, and hair stylists for men as well as women. The Beau Rivage tropical pool includes private cabanas with concierge services. Poolside areas are also available for outdoor events and private functions.
The Business Center allows you to keep connected, while providing support functions such as typing and word processing assistance, as well as rental computers, high-speed Internet access, traditional and overnight mail services, fax/copier/printer, and office supplies.
For more information or to make reservations, call (888) 56-ROOMS (extension 7254 connects you directly to the poker room) or (228) 386-7444 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (CDT), Monday-Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends, or visit Beau Rivage.
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