Breaking ground for Island View beach casino expansion

The Island View Casino in Gulfport is giving people another reason to come enjoy our picturesque Gulf Coast. Today, officials broke ground for their new 43,000 square foot beach front casino expansion.
The sound of progress along what used to be a parking lot at the Island View Casino, all geared toward making way for even more room for people to press their luck at a smoke free casino expansion that will land the Gulfport casino in the top spot when it comes to size, parlaying into the Coast’s largest casino floor with 123,000 square feet for gaming, not to mention a gorgeous beach view. Island View Vice President and General Counsel Cathy Beeding said, “We’re going to bring the outside in. There’s going to be floor to ceiling windows surrounding the casino which is a very different and unique design for casinos in general and particularly here in Mississippi.”
Gulfport and casino leaders officially broke ground on the expansion Wednesday. On hand for the event were the two local men who opened the casino. “Island View is owned by Rick Carter and Terry Green who grew up right here in Gulfport, Mississippi and this additional $75 million investment into their local community is just another sign that these hometown guys really, really believe in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and they believe in their hometown and great things are ahead,” said Beeding.
Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes said, “It not only speaks to their commitment to this community, Gulfport, the Coast, and the casino market, but also to the opportunity that I think he sees and it substantiates what we’ve been doing in Gulfport to try to create an environment where people want to come and work, have a job, live, visit, and so when you have investments of this type it sends a good message.”
Construction has already started on the 43,000 square foot casino building. It’s the fourth phase of construction since opening in 2006, set to bring in about 250 more jobs to the Coast. “We currently have about 1,600 and so the opportunity to hire a couple more hundred of our friends and neighbors here is a great opportunity,” said Beeding.
Set to open summer 2018, officials say this project is a sure bet that will feature additional state of the art casino games, more food and beverage options, and on-floor entertainment.