Ameristar is ready to reclaim the top spot among Vicksburg casinos as the local industry’s prime entertainment venue, its general manager said Wednesday.

What’s in store for regular players and fun-seekers alike to the area’s largest gaming venue could bring more music to Bottleneck Blues Bar and “fun, energetic and exciting” table games like blackjack, new GM Gerad Hardy said in a brief interview during a meet-and-greet and breakfast organized by the casino.

“We’re in the gaming industry,” Hardy said. “It’s supposed to be fun. So, for lack of a better word, we’re going to turn the lights on a little bit. We’re going to put a little energy into some programs we’ve stopped doing in the past.”

Hardy said “new types of entertainment” is in the works for the Bottleneck, which had hosted live music for years until 2012 when the facility replaced bands in the 300-seat lounge with a DJ. Since then, Lady Luck Casino has hosted pop and rock music acts of note while the Bottleneck’s stage has been limited to blues appreciation series concerts.

A new blackjack area is expected to open soon, though Hardy had no specifics on the time frame for either planned addition.

Ameristar Hotel was named sixth-best luxury hotel in Mississippi last month by U.S. News and World Report, an honor Hardy continued to promote Wednesday.

“It’s a wonderful place for people coming off the highway to stay,” Hardy said. “We want to take care of our existing customers and guests but also reach out to either a new customer or one that hasn’t visited us for a while.”

Wednesday’s breakfast came about a month after the arrival of Hardy, hired in February. Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Warren County Board of Supervisors president Bill Lauderdale were among those who attended, plus a swath of the local tourism promotion industry.