Page 4 - Mississippi/Louisiana Gaming News - Spring, 2024

Guest Editorial
John Ferrucci: The best is yet to come for MS gaming industry
Official Newsmagazine of the Mississippi Gaming Industry
SPRING 2025 Volume XXII Issue 1
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Copyright, 2025
Mississippi Gaming News
(MGN) is owned and published by M2 Media Corp., 12268 Intraplex Parkway, Gulfport, MS 39503. MGN is produced in cooperation with the Mississippi Gaming and Hospitality Association. The contents of MGN are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
By John Ferrucci
As I reflect on a casino career that has lasted 45 years, I have wonderful memories of my time spent living and working here in Mississippi.
I was casino manager at a little casino in The Bahamas back in 1993 when I was recruited by the Grand Casinos to be part of the team they
had assembled to open
the Gulfport property.
Being from New Jersey,
I had to go to a map to
find out where Gulfport,
Mississippi, was. When
I came to town and saw
what was happening here,
I realized the long-term
potential that this regional
market could have and
I gladly accepted the
position.
Since I was very familiar
with the Las Vegas and
Atlantic City markets, I was impressed by the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which had the same exciting vibe but was obviously in its infancy. Once the Mississippi Gulf Coast began to grow and mature into a full-fledged regional gaming market, I just knew I wanted to be around for that — to be a part of it — to help make it happen.
After the Gulfport property opened successfully in May 1993, I had the opportunity to join the team preparing the Biloxi property for its successful opening in January 1994.
From there, I was recruited to join the team at Palace Casino, which had just been purchased out of bankruptcy. After that property reopened successfully, I accepted a two-year contract to oversee the construction and initial start-up of a casino in upstate New York, which was being built by and for the St. Regis Tribe of Mohawk Indians. That was certainly an exciting and very rewarding project for me and my wife, Bridget, but we both really missed the Coast and set our sights on getting back home as soon as the right opportunity presented itself.
As luck would have it, I was then recruited for the vacant position of general manager at Casino Magic in Biloxi. The timing was
perfect and that property had just recently become part of a much larger national gaming company, which made it all the more appealing. I had the pleasure of serving as the general manager of that property for four years.
Following that, I had the opportunity to rejoin my former CEO with what would become the Silver Slipper project. We
John Ferrucci
purchased the President Casino in April 2005 and began to remodel that barge in anticipation of floating it down to Hancock County and reopening as the Silver Slipper Casino.
However, Hurricane Katrina changed those plans pretty dramatically. Slightly more than a year after that hurricane, Silver Slipper became the first Mississippi casino to be built on land and had a successful opening in November 2006.
Having had the pleasure of working at a total of six casinos on the Coast, I have been very fortunate to have worked with literally thousands of people over the years and it’s always a pleasure to run into old friends and former employees and talk about the “good old days.”
It is the people on the Coast that make this industry so successful and make the Coast a desirable destination for so many visitors every year. Through all of the high and low points, through all of the storms, pandemics and countless other adversities, it’s the people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast who have always rebounded and faced every challenge with a fearless determination.
For that reason, I’m proud of the contribution I have been able to make to their lives by providing them with career
4MISSISSIPPI GAMING NEWS SPRING 2025