Posted on 12/16/2005 9:54:32 PM PST by mcg2000
Harrah's Casino continues its contributions to the recovery of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region with a star-studded benefit concert at 3:30 p.m. this Sunday at Grand Casino's Grand Tunica Event Center.
Performers Wayne Newton, Lee Ann Womack, Chris Isaak and Neal McCoy; actresses Brittany Murphy and Bo Derek; and comedians Paul Rodriguez and Sinbad are among the celebrities slated to appear at the event, which will benefit the Mississippi Law Enforcement and Firefighter Katrina Relief Fund, a charity established to help the first responders who stayed on the job following Hurricane Katrina despite great personal loss.
"I didn't even get out with the clothes on my back because I was wearing county clothes," says Hancock County sheriff's deputy Bobby Underwood in an interview on the fund's Web site, BacktheBadge.org.
Tickets to the concert are available for $20 (or two for $30), through the Grand Casino box office by calling (800) 946-4946, ext. 3060, and at all Ticketmaster locations, including online at Ticketmaster.com.
Also attending the concert will be Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore of the First United States Army, the commander of Joint Task Force Katrina who is largely credited with restoring order to New Orleans following the hurricane, as well as Maj. Gen. Harold A. Cross, Adjutant General of the State of Mississippi, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Preceding the concert, Honore, Cross, Newton and Barbour will attend a $500-a-plate reception that includes a banquet and floor seats to the benefit. Tickets to the reception are available by calling the Grand Casino box office.
Corporate sponsorship packages, costing between $5,000 and $50,000 are also available by calling Valerie Morris at (662) 357-3089.
Harrah's, the world's largest gaming company, suffered significant losses to its properties in New Orleans, Biloxi and Gulfport when Hurricane Katrina hit the area Aug. 29. A fourth casino in Lake Charles, La., was closed in September as a result of Hurricane Rita.
In all, 9,500 Harrah's employees were directly affected by the storms. In their aftermath, Harrah's extended pay and benefits, including health care, to all its employees for 90 days, offered them first choice of openings at any of the company's 35 other domestic casinos, and provided financial assistance for relocation.
The company also established the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund, which to date has raised $3 million for employee assistance. On Feb. 20 Harrah's will hold an event hosted by Jerry Seinfeld at Caesar's Palace to benefit the fund. Musical performers are Elton John and Celine Dion. Tickets are $20 ($30 for two) up to $100, and are available by calling (888) 702-3544. Ticket packages, including preshow reception and backstage meet-and-greet, range from $3,000 to $100,000 and are available by calling (702) 407-6445.
Though no plans have been announced for Harrah's Gulfport casino, executives have already announced intentions to build a "very impressive" new resort in Biloxi.
In October, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill that allows the Gulf Coast casinos, which, like Tunica's, were restricted to barges anchored in "navigable waterways," to rebuild on land within 800 feet of a waterway. Besides answering issues of damage control and safety in the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast region -- a solidly built land casino is far less likely to be blown a mile across a federal highway and land on top of a Holiday Inn as happened with Biloxi's President Casino -- the bill is expected to open the door to expansion of the gaming industry and the amenities that surround it in the state.
Currently Mississippi, with casinos in Tunica and all along the Gulf Coast, is the No. 3 gambling center in America, with $2.7 billion in revenues in 2004.
More info:
Hurricane Heroes Salute
3:30 p.m. Sunday at Grand Casino Grand Tunica Events Center. Tickets are $20 ($30 for two), available through the Grand Casino box office by calling (800) 946-4946, ext. 3060, and at all Ticketmaster locations, including online at Ticketmaster.com.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.