Beverly Martin, executive director of the MississippiAssociation of Casino Operators and a member of the Harrison CountyVisitors Bureau, which covers Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis andWaveland, said 2007 was a banner year due to a shift in customerdemographics, primarily a surge in recovery workers, primarilyconstruction, volunteers and government agencies, and increasedtourists from Florida and other points in the East.

The quick rebuilding of the casinos – almost all financed byoperator capital, debt and insurance and not public subsidies – sawrevenues along the coastal area of the state hit the $100million-per-month record for all of 2007, a highpoint hit only oncein 2006 as rebuilding was wrapping up.

Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos saw revenues of $1.3 billion in2007, compared to $1.2 billion in 2004, the last full year beforeKatrina. The storm blew down revenue to $886,158 in 2005 when therewas zero revenue for four months.