Horseshoe Tunica launches sports book

Mississippi is cashing in on the May ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that cleared the way for states to decide whether or not they want to legalize sports wagering — a decision that R. Scott Barber, regional president of the Mid-South for Caesars Entertainment and chairman of the Tunica Tourism Commission, previously told the Memphis Business Journal could have a direct economic impact to the state of anywhere from $35 million to $150 million. 

Ceremonial bets were placed at the Book at Horseshoe Tunica, which officially launched Monday, Aug. 13  by former Memphis Tiger and NFL running back DeAngelo Williams and NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick.

Other Horseshoe event attendees:

• Rep. Richard Bennett, Mississippi House of Representatives
• Allen Godfrey, executive director of Mississippi Gaming Commission
• Larry Gregory, executive director of Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality
• Chuck Cariker, Mayor of Tunica
• Webster Franklin, president of Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Caesars Entertainment executives 

"The Southeast loves its sports, especially SEC football [and] professional football," Franklin told MBJ in a recent interview. "We will be one of the only places in the Southeast in the conference footprint that allows sports wagering. We hope we will see an increase in traffic of people and friends getting together and coming to Tunica for a weekend."

Mississippi was one of the first to implement sports betting, beginning Aug. 1 at Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, due to the fact that they had previously passed legislation in 2017 that would allow sports betting — in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to decide.