Mississippi casino to reopen after Ike damage

The Silver Slipper Casino, Mississippi's first land-built casino and a casualty of Hurricane Ike, reopened on September 6, just two months shy of its second anniversary. "We suffered minimal damage to the exterior and our lower level entrance but our gaming floor is in perfect shape," stated John N. Ferrucci, COO and General Manager of Silver Slipper Casino. "Like so many, we learned a lot from Katrina, so we had a plan in place and prepared for the worst. As soon as it was safe to return, our team immediately assessed the damage and worked tirelessly in an effort to re-open."

All three of the Slipper's restaurants are now open. The Jubilee features a $7.95 lunch buffet, as well as a $9.95 dinner and Sunday brunch buffet special throughout the month of September. Additionally, the Slipper is moving forward with its September promotions including an A. J. Foyt Racing Custom Ford Mustang giveaway, November 9th, a $20,000 Weekend Cash Blast giveaway each weekend in September, free entertainment, big screen football action and much more.

The Slipper's beachfront RV park is temporarily closed. However, management hopes to have it open soon.

Silver Slipper Casino is located on the beach at 5000 South Beach Blvd. in Hancock County, Mississippi.

Reno bans RV stays at casinos

Reno, Nevada does not want RVers staying overnight for free in its casinos' parking lots. For 12 years, a law has been on the books that prohibited such "camping," but it has not been enforced.

Now, after countless RV stays in casino lots and other public parking areas, the city claims that such RVs are health hazards. "I've observed people stepping out of their RV and (urinating) outside the door," city code enforcer Alex Woodley told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "We've had individuals use a Wal-Mart lot and instead of being a good citizen, at 2 a.m. they'll dump their gray water and take off, leaving a hazardous situation."

Already, the city has received about two dozen e-mails from RV owners who wrote of the convenience of overnighting in casino parking lots and patronizing the casino and restaurants as well as other retail establishments. Many said they would boycott the city in the future.

Mayor Bob Cashell acknowledged that only a fraction of the RVers cause problems but added, "There's always that one-half percent that screws it up for everybody."

If you would like to comment, you can write the mayor at bob@bobcashell.com .

Reno's next door neighbor, Sparks, has no such "no parking" laws on its books.