Development of the area into a casino hotel resort destination

THE TUNICA, MISSISSIPPI

“MIRACLE” HAS ITS ROOTS IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT
Local Vision and Leadership Provides Benefits Today and Tomorrow

Mississippi’s Tunica County in the early 1990s wasn’t all that different from many communities in the nation’s rural areas. With 9,000 residents dependent on an almost totally agricultural economy, unemployment in the county ran in the double-digits, average per capita income was $10,611, and more than 50 percent of the county’s residents lived in households receiving food stamps. As Murphree says in retrospect, “Tunica wasn’t any different from anywhere else, just more desperate.”

In the past nine years, however, the county has experienced dramatic and positive changes. Today, Tunica County, situated on the Mississippi River just 20 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, welcomes 10 million visitors a year to its 10 world-class casino resort properties, and the resulting influx of revenues into local businesses and governmental agencies has allowed the county to make a rapid about-face.

In 1992, the county had only 20 hotel rooms. By 2001, the number had exploded to more than 6,000 rooms. Among visitor attractions are an outlet mall featuring brand-names such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, two championship golf courses, 50 restaurants featuring everything from buffets to gourmet Asian cuisine, multi-million-dollar showrooms for Las Vegas-style entertainment, and much, much more. Nearby Memphis offers the visitor a multitude of additional entertainment options, from the blues music and barbecue of Beale Street to legendary tours of Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, not to mention extensive shopping, art and history museums and recreational opportunities.

“What happened in Tunica County probably can’t be duplicated, because of where we came from and how much development occurred in such a short time,” Murphree says. “It’s rare to have this much investment put into an area this quickly. It’s truly a unique situation that probably won’t happen ever again – that is, to jump-start a county’s development from a blank and desperate slate and quickly transform it into a thriving, profitable community.”

Folks in Tunica County call it “The Tunica Miracle,” and the statistics validate the claims. The booming tourism industry and agriculture now co-habitate in Tunica County, both contributing much to its culture and success.

“This is a story about economic development, about a county which was statistically one of the most impoverished counties in the United States, about a county for which the gaming industry provided the opportunity to reverse its fortune,” Murphree testified in 1998 before the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. “I am proud to say that it is a true success story.”

Murphree has worked in county government for more than 25 years, including 22 years as the chief administrative officer of a county government. Born and raised in Tunica, he has lived and worked in either Tunica County or adjoining DeSoto County for his entire life. He is known throughout the region as an effective leader, careful planner and masterful builder of consensus.

In 1990, the Mississippi State Legislature authorized gaming with legislation designed to reflect Nevada’s gaming laws, but only in the locations where they believed it would do the most good. Thus, gaming was approved for two key areas – the communities along the Mississippi River Delta and the Gulf Coast. In 1991, the residents of Tunica County approved gaming without opposition, and in October 1992, the county’s first casino, Splash, opened on a river barge with phenomenal success. A short time later, a gaming industry survey named Splash as the most profitable casino, in terms of profit per position, in the nation. Splash’s number-one position caused the national gaming and amusement industry to take notice, and soon Tunica became known as a lucrative location. Its location at the crossroads of mid-America and proximity to approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population contributed significantly to its business appeal. The word about Tunica’s opportunity spread throughout the gaming industry, and Tunica became a new “mecca” for the industry’s business development. Since then, more than $3 billion has been invested in the county and more than 16,000 jobs have been created. Unemployment is low – approximately 4.3 percent currently. Salaries for workers are at least 25 percent higher than earnings prior to the arrival of the gaming industry. And food stamp distribution for 1999 was 70 percent less than the 1992 distribution.

The sudden windfall of new tax revenues coming into Tunica County’s coffers might have startled county officials, but they quickly rallied to respond to the turn in the county’s fortunes. Murphree and other civic leaders immediately sat down and began deliberately planning the county’s future, setting long-term goals and defining a vision designed to address widespread needs.

The increases in county revenues are equally impressive. Total county revenue for Tunica in 1992 was $3.5 million; in 1999, total revenue had risen to $52.1 million. With 10 casino-resort properties in operation, annual gaming revenue for 1999 was $1.1 billion, compared to $114.1 million in 1993. Retail sales and retail sales tax collections have also skyrocketed, from $65.9 million in sales revenue for fiscal 1993 to $325.8 million in fiscal 1999.

The Vegas-style casino hotels that now fill Tunica’s horizon aren’t the only signs of the area’s rapid growth. In August 2000, Tunica County’s new Paul Battle Jr. Arena and Exposition Center opened, with the region’s largest indoor arena at 48,000 square feet, plus an outdoor arena and an adjacent pavilion with an additional 100,000 square feet of exposition area. Battle was a long-time chairman of the County Board of Supervisors and is now retired. The state-of-the-art multi-purpose facility complements the attractions offered by the nearby casino resorts and serves to bring in more new business to the county. Already, in its first six months of operation, the arena has hosted almost 50 horse shows, agricultural expos, rodeo championships, family events and trade shows.

Yet another new attraction in Tunica is the soon-to-be-completed Tunica Museum, which will feature artifacts, art and historical collections and interpretive exhibits depicting Tunica’s history and growth, beginning from the days of the early European explorers through the present.

In October, Tunica County signed a contract for construction of a new airport that will provide facilities by 2003 for commercial airlines and charter aircraft. A county Housing Department was created to rehabilitate substandard housing and houses for the elderly and disabled, and to launch a first-time homeowner program. Highways and county roads have been upgraded and expanded, including the construction of more than 30 miles of four-lane roadways over the past six years.

“We intentionally designed the roads in the county to accommodate future growth, because we realized how important it is to avoid the traffic congestion that is typical in today’s fast-growing tourist destinations,” Murphree said.

Other significant enhancements to the area include a comprehensive water management program, widespread improvements to the water and sewer system, expansion of the county’s recreation center, and creation of a Main Street program to attract commercial development.

Plans for the near future, in addition to the airport, include development of a $22 million river park and marina that will include an interpretive center, aquarium and eco-park. The recreation center now has a new ballpark, computer facilities, classrooms, and senior citizens program, with an indoor walking track, and racquetball and handball courts scheduled to open this summer. New county and city law enforcement and fire departments have been built, with more equipment and staffing. With a 2001 operating budget of approximately $50 million, Tunica County is well positioned to give something back to its residents and to the tens of thousands of visitors who arrive each day.

“The effect of these developments on a county of approximately 9,000 residents with an almost totally agriculturally-based economy is startling,” Murphree said. “The casino resorts brought 16,000 jobs to Tunica County – but more importantly, they brought a sense of hope and opportunity that had never existed in Tunica.

“The fact is that everyone in Tunica County who wants a job, regardless of their educational or skill level, can have one.”

James Dunn, president of the Tunica County Board of Supervisors, agrees that the gaming industry and the ensuing economic development has made the county much more vibrant and attractive to its own citizens as well as people and companies who are considering relocating to the area.

“Our slogan, ‘Tunica is a good place to live,’ could actually be expanded to say, ‘Tunica is a good place to live and work and raise a family’,” Dunn said. “People are proud to tell the world they are from Tunica, but that wasn’t always the case. Now we are very proud of what has been accomplished in Tunica and throughout the Mississippi Delta region.”

Dunn said the additions to Tunica County’s infrastructure – the four-lane roads, the new airport, the expanding outlet mall and numerous other amenities – will help provide a foundation for continuing growth in the county’s gaming industry. “To help that market grow, to secure the jobs that have been created, and to make sure the industry remains stable for the future – these are the outcomes that we hope our vision will produce,” he said. “All these services will help make our community an attractive place to visit and to live, for many years into the future.”

Prior to the arrival of the gaming industry, the county’s tax base could hardly fund minimum services. In 1992, Tunica County’s local support to schools totaled $941,000, or 13.67 percent of the total school budget. By 1997, the county’s contribution was more than $5 million, or 47 percent of the total schools budget. With 12 percent of gaming revenues allocated to education, the county’s per pupil expenditure has subsequently risen to place it at fifth highest in the state.

“We’re giving a lot back to the people of Tunica County, and it’s been a wonderful experience to have the resources to get caught up fast,” Murphree said. “Because we had such rapid investments by the casino resorts, we’ve been able to move quickly to make improvements in services that were so desperately needed. From the time the first gaming revenues were collected, we immediately began putting funds into our roads and highways, and then into improvements in our water and sewer systems.

“Once these basic infrastructure needs were met, our strategy was to then provide services that would support and lead to more jobs. Through the teamwork of business leaders at the casino properties and our county leaders, we have remained focused on these goals, and that focus has enabled us to be successful. Now we are considered the nation’s third largest gaming destination.”

Today, Tunica County residents are proud of their four-lane roadways, their showcase arena and exposition center, the history museum, plans for the airport and eco-park and all the other expansions now in the works in this thriving county. The tax rate in the county is one of the lowest in the state – less than half of the median rate in Mississippi. Jobs are plentiful, and the area’s high morale keeps getting stronger as more and more tourists visit the destination, bringing an influx of dollars that just keeps growing as it is invested back into the county’s infrastructure and the businesses that comprise the entire destination.

“It is truly an amazing story when you look back at where we came from,” Murphree adds. “I am proud to say that thanks to the investments made by gaming industry here in Tunica County, we have demonstrated that not only can gaming have a significant and positive economic impact, but when combined with supportive, deliberate planning by civic and business leaders, can actually turn around the destiny of a small, rural county such as ours.”

As the county continues its progress into the 21st century, the legacy of thoughtful planning and government commitment should endure and prosper for generations to come.

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