 Harrah's Grand Casino Property Cleared GCN Photo Story by Keith Burton - GCN 11/6/06 Updated: 11/9/06 There is perhaps no clearer picture of the Post-Katrina landscape than that of the property at the site of the former Biloxi Grand Casino. Harrah's, which owns the site, has completed cleared almost everything that was once one of the busiest and largest casinos on the Coast. That was not a small undertaking. The Grand's site south of U.S. 90, the beach highway in Biloxi, has been completely cleared of all that was the "Grand" and awaits a new development promised by Harrah's. But last week, Harrah's announced a delay in redeveloping their property. The photo below is what the site looked like prior to Hurricane Katrina.
Below, are photos that show what is there now. Note the land bridge that crosses the highway. It is still in place as it runs from the Grand's remaining hotel and parking garage on the north side of the highway.
The photo below shows Biloxi's Casino Row a few short weeks after Katrina in Sept. 2005. At this point, the Grand's property south of U.S. 90 still had a hotel and its other buildings. The Grand's two barges were onshore at this time, washed up by Katrina's storm surge. Note that everything to the right of this photo has been removed, the former hotel, and parking garage have also been completely removed.
The photo,(right) shows the Grand Casino barge onshore
after Katrina in September 2005. It had drifted well to the west of its
mooring site during the hurricane. Since then, the barge has been
completely demolished and the debris removed. The photo below shows the Grand's southeastern site as it is today. (Update: On Nov. 9, Harrah's announced that it has complete acquisition of the former Biloxi Casino Magic that has been closed since Katrina, shown in the photo below.
Biloxi's Mayor A.J. Holloway is still confident that Harrah's will develop the property. Harrah's has said that it plans a "spectacular" resort at the site. The company did reopen a smaller casino resort at their refurbished Bay View Hotel in August. (Photo below)
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