Ameristar Casino announced Friday 50 to 60 jobs will be eliminated in the near future, and the same number of its 900 total employees will be asked to take on part-time positions. Additionally, the largest of Vicksburg’s five casinos will close one of its three restaurants and rebrand another over the next 10 weeks, said Public Relations Manager Bess Averett.

“The specifics of who (will be laid off) and when are still being worked out,” said Averett. “Anytime we have to let people go it’s bad, and obviously it’s something we’d rather not do, but we’ve got to match our staffing with our volume of business.”

It is the third round of layoffs at Ameristar since last August, and it looks to be the largest. In November, the casino laid off 28 employees and offered reduced hours to another 57. Last August — just months after completing a $100 million expansion — the casino cut its workforce by 25. Averett said the coming layoffs will account for an estimated 7 percent of the casino’s staff. 

DeliLux and Pearl’s Oyster Bar — both of which were apart of Ameristar’s expansion — will be closed and rebranded as well. DeliLux, which offered sandwiches, salads and soups, will be closed for good, said Averett, while Pearl’s will be rebranded as a new eatery.

“We polled our guests about what they wanted to see as far as food offerings, and they said they want more casual, value-priced restaurants,” said Averett of the restaurant changes, “so that’s what we’re going to do with Pearl’s. It will be rebranded into a quick-serve cafe model that is much more casual.”

Pearl’s will remain open for about two weeks, said Averett, and DeliLux will remain open throughout the redesigning of the seafood restaurant — which she estimated will take 10 weeks. The casino’s other restaurant, Bourbon’s, will be adding some barbecue and other items to its menu as well, she added, while the casino’s buffet will remain unchanged.

Ameristar also operates casinos in East Chicago; Kansas City; Black Hawk, Colo.; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Jackpot, Nev.; and St. Charles, Mo. Averett said the local layoffs are a part of larger staff reductions of primarily food and beverage employees at each of Ameristar’s properties.

According to a second quarter report released earlier this week, Ameristar Casino properties nationwide saw revenue decrease by 5.9 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago — $318.1 million in 2008 compared to $308.9 million in January through March of this year.

Despite the addition of Riverwalk Casino last fall — the city’s first new casino in 14 years — the revenue from the 3.2 percent gaming tax divided among the city, county and local school district has not increased as many gaming experts had predicted. Fiscal year to date revenue through June was up a microscopic 0.54 percent compared to the same period last year. Total collections in fiscal year 2008 totaled $7.9 million, down by 3.8 percent compared to 2007. Riverwalk, Rainbow, Horizon and DiamondJacks casinos have not announced any layoffs over the past year.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com