Casino veteran to head up newest venue|[02/19/08]

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A veteran of the Vicksburg casino scene will head the city’s fifth casino when it opens this fall.

Riverwalk Casino officials named Rob Long as president and general manager of the facility still under construction on Warrenton Road next to Rainbow Casino, where Long has been director of casino operations since 2002.

Long, 58, was also Rainbow’s first general manager upon its opening in 1994, then held a similar position at Ameristar Casino Vicksburg from 1997 to 2000.

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“The Riverwalk team has been associated with some of North America’s most successful casinos and mixed-use developments,” Long said in a release. “I look forward to working with them to create a great new attraction for Vicksburg.”

A resident of Vicksburg for 14 years, Long’s 29 years in the industry includes executive and management positions with Harrah’s, Cactus Petes (Ameristar’s predecessor company) and with President Casino properties in Iowa, Missouri and Mississippi. Long also worked as an enforcement agent with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

“Rob Long is the perfect addition to our Riverwalk team and I am very excited to have him involved with the project,” said Greg Carlin, CEO of Magnolia Hill LLC, the casino’s operator. “His extensive experience in the Vicksburg market and his team-oriented approach to management dovetails with the needs and goals of our organization.”

Crews continue work on Riverwalk’s main structure, which will sit on pilings near the Mississippi River on a 22-acre site. Developers plan an 80-room hotel, 800 slot machines, and a landscaped walkway for viewing of the river. Initial job creation estimates foresee a staff of more than 400 at Riverwalk, which would make it the third-largest employer in the state’s zone of regulation in the south Mississippi River region. Ameristar is tops, with 908 employees. DiamondJacks’ is second, with 522 employees.

Riverwalk will have 750 parking spaces, including a 325-space garage to face the casino and hotel at an angle. An access road leading to the future parking area was recently completed, which may be controlled by a traffic signal pending approval by the city of project designs.

A consortium of investors is involved in developing Riverwalk, including John A. Barrett Jr., an original developer and minority stakeholder in Rainbow. Magnolia Hill LLC, its business identity which bears some of the casino’s name when first proposed in 2005, is partly owned by Chicago-based High River Gaming.

Controlling interest will be held by Chicago real estate magnate Neil Bluhm.

One other proposed casino for Vicksburg remains in process. The $200 million resort complex proposed off U.S. 61 South by Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment has some hurdles, however. The deal remains linked to the fate of 155 acres of adjacent railroad right-of-way, part of which is under abandonment proceedings between Kansas City Southern Railway and the federal government.

Key investors in another, a casino-and-golf resort proposed as Mississippi Bluffs, said in January the deal is off following the death of developer Paul Bunge in December and other financing challenges.

A major makeover continues at Ameristar, which promises completion of its 1,000-space parking garages and other parts of its $98 million expansion by early summer. DiamondJacks, formerly Isle of Capri, has promised more renovation to its facility further up Washington Street.

The first casino opened in Vicksburg in August 1993. Although more than a dozen projects were announced in the early years, four operators established in the market quickly — Harrah’s (now Horizon), the Isle of Capri, Ameristar and Rainbow. A November opening is planned for Riverwalk.