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Tunica Casinos Change Face of Rural Mississippi

keep the roads passable, the sewers working and the schools open.

"We had a planning commission but it never met. There was nothing to plan for," Franklin said.

Now, because of casino taxes, the county's annual budget is $80 million. So far, it has collected more than $255 million from the casinos.

"Tunica County is debt free," Franklin said, "and projects are paid for with cash."

At first, Tunica spent most of its casino money on roads, sewers, and other improvements that would help attract more riverboats. Property taxes were eliminated.

The county also built two new schools and a small medical center. The jail was remodeled, and "things that were broken were fixed," Franklin said.

Tunica is now building a 168-acre riverfront park and putting in a 7,000-foot runway at its small airport.

The casinos have created more than 15,000 jobs, and Tunica County has a total population of just 9,200.

Most of the casino workers came from Memphis and surrounding communities in Mississippi and Arkansas. Last year, the casinos paid out more than $90 million in salaries.

Before the casinos, farm work provided modest incomes for most of Tunica's residents and unemployment rate was 26 percent.

By latest count, unemployment is 5 percent, and per capita income has increased from $11,875 to $20,203.

The number of Tunica residents on welfare has dropped 90 percent, and food stamp distributions have dropped 70 percent.

In recent years, the casinos have expanded their advertising outside the Memphis region.

The casinos estimate that 29 percent of their gamblers last year were from Tennessee, while 18 percent were from Arkansas and 13 percent from Mississippi. The other 40 percent came from a variety of states, mostly in the South and Midwest.

Overall, the regional economy has improved since the casinos arrived, said Jeff Wallace a University of Memphis economist.

"Many of the initial fears people had on the negative impact on the community simply haven't happened," Wallace said.

Eighteen of Mississippi's 30 casinos are along the Mississippi River, with the rest on the Gulf Coast.

The riverboats in the "North River Region," which includes Tunica's casinos plus another at the town of Lula, had gross revenues last year of more than $353 million.

The state does not report on finances from individual casinos.

But while the casinos have brought money and jobs, they undoubtedly have had hidden costs as well, said Andy Meyers, a University of Memphis psychologist.

Meyers runs a clinic in Memphis for victims of compulsive gambling. Since opening in 1999, largely because of the casinos in Tunica, the clinic has treated more than 120 patients.

No records are available on how many bankruptcies, divorces and other problems can be directly linked to gambling, but national studies give an idea on their social costs, Meyers said.

Most people who patronize casinos gamble for entertainment, but up to 5 percent are at risk of becoming compulsive gamblers. And it is clear, Myers said, that more people give gambling a try as casinos become more accessible.