TUNICA COUNTY
Population 9,500
|
TUNICA (TOWN)
Population 1,300
|
VISITORS PER DAY
40,000 - 50,000
|
VISITORS ANNUALLY
12 Million
|
CASINO EMPLOYEES
15,000
|
INDUSTRIES
Casino Gaming,
Hospitality, Agriculture
|
Tunica County was one of ten counties
created in 1836 from Chickasaw Indian territory ceded to the
U.S. in 1816. Commerce, now the site of Casino Strip, was the
first county seat. Founded in 1834, Commerce was destroyed by
the flooding Mississippi River in 1842.
Commerce was located in the province of Quizquiz
where Chisca the Great Chief ruled when this area was discovered
by Tunica's first tourist, Hernando DeSoto in 1541. The next
county seat was Austin which survived being burned by the Federals
only to be flooded and destroyed. In 1848, twenty acres of inland
property was donated for the new and current seat of Tunica,
Mississippi. To date, the town of Tunica has remained unharmed
by the flood waters of the Mighty Mississippi.
|
| America's best gaming odds are
yours in the fasest growing adult playground: Tunica,
Mississippi. |
Gaming was legalized in 1992.
Splash was the first casino to open at Mhoon Landing and
three others followed at that location.
A $10 boarding fee was charged until the other
three casinos opened and competed for the business.
Tunica receives 4% of gross gaming revenues.
Of this, 12% goes to schools, 2% to Levee Board, 4% to the
Town of Tunica, and the rest to the general fund.
Tunica is one of the largest gaming destinations
in the U.S. based on gaming revenues.
Tunica county had 20 hotel rooms in 1993. Currently there are
over 6,000 rooms with thousands more anticipated.
Tunica is home to Blues legends Robert
Johnson and James Cotten. Other famous Blues artists who have
called Tunica home are Son House, Willie Brown and Isaiah "Dr." Ross.
| Soybeans |
129,000 acres |
$30 million |
| Cotton |
65,000
acres |
$37 million |
| Rice |
24,500 acres |
$13 million |
| Wheat |
7,000
acres |
$4 million |
| Corn |
5,000 acres |
$3 million |
| Catfish |
4,000
acres |
$9 million |
| Gaming Profile |
| Gaming |
13.5 acres |
$1.2 billion |
|
| Tunica is booming
right on the banks of what the native Indians called "the
Father of Waters." |
The upper and lower Mississippi
Delta is protected from the flooding Mississippi River by the
Yazoo Mississippi Delta Levee. This levee begins at the Chickasaw
Bluffs just south of Memphis and continues down through Natchez.
The Levee Board and the U.S. Corps of Engineers maintain 98
miles of levee and 20 miles of backwater levee.
The creation of the levee district was, in fact, a reaction
to the flood of 1882 which has been described as the most
destructive flood in the recorded history of Mississippi
River overflow. There were 284 crevasses with a combined
length of 56.1 miles.
The last crevasse was in 1897 in Tunica
County at Flower Lake. This was the first flood which could accurately
indicate the maximum high water level following the closing of
the St. Francis and White River Basins on the Arkansas side.
Estimated guesses could not be made until the Arkansas levees
were built.
In 1917, Congress passed legislation which provided that the
U.S. Government through the Corps of Engineers would build
the levee if local districts would provide one third of the
cost and secure rights-of-way.
It was not until 1920, after World War I, that federal participation
in levee construction began. Other significant floods were
in 1927, 1937, 1950 and 1973.
Earliest levees were approximately three feet in height above
ground level and were built by riverfront landowners.
The levee has grown in height from an average of eight feet
in 1884 to an average of 40 feet. The base has grown from an
average width of 58 feet in 1884 to 350 feet today. The riverside
of the levee has a layer of heavy, impervious clay and a berm
to prevent passage of seepage through the levee. The entire
levee is planted in Bermuda grass to protect the dirt material
from erosion.
In the riverside "borrow pits," which provided most
of the material for the construction of the levee, natural
tree growth is encouraged to protect the levee from wave wash
during high water stages.
The levee is controlled and maintained by the Yazoo Mississippi
Delta Levee Board made up of elected officials from the ten
river counties. They employ a full-time engineer.
For assistance with these itinerary suggestions
or any other help, please contact the Tunica Convention & Visitors
Bureau. Call Toll Free 888-488-6422.
Bill Canter , Director of Marketing & Sales
Email: bcanter@tunicamiss.com
Angie Roberts , Sales Coordinator Email: aroberts@tunicamiss.com
