STRICTLY BUSINESS: NEW ERA, NEW LOOK, IN MISSISSIPPI

We remember a previous era in Northern Mississippi.

We remember that a youngster by the name of Elvis, born in Tupelo, made it big on the rock 'n' roll scene.

In the meanwhile, on the other side of the state, cotton, soybeans, rice and other grain crops were providing some big bucks for some, and a meager livings for others.

During the early 1990s, we remember hearing of a "boat in a moat," west of Tunica, that was providing some big bucks for some folks, big losses for others.

The "boat," in the shape of a riverboat, was encased by levees, along the Mississippi River, marked the coming of big-time gambling to Mississippi.

People from the Memphis, Tenn., area were driving a 35- to 40-mile distance to "Mhoon Landing," site of the boat, next to the Mississippi River. More times than not, especially on a weekend, they were herded into a large nearby barn to await entrance to the casino, where they paid $20 to $35 for a chance to lose their money.

Eventually, another riverboat was installed at Mhoon Landing, and then a third.

But other casino operations had some "better ideas" -- move to the northern end of Tunica County, where the distance to the Memphis metropolitan limits was only 20 to 25 miles away.

Today, almost a decade later, Tunica County, once known as the "poorest county in the United States," has taken on a metropolitan look.

The cotton fields and rice fields are still there, but bordering the fields, along a stretch of the Mississippi River, are some "big-city" signs -- flashing lights, multi-level hotels and giant gambling casinos.

Just recently, the Grand Casino Tunica, about 20 miles south of Memphis, added its third hotel in the area, the $72 million Terrace Hotel and Spa Resort, a 600-room luxury hotel.

The Grand Casino is the largest gaming resort between Las Vegas, Nev., and Atlantic City, N.J.

The Grand complex includes a casino with 3,100 slot machines, more than 100 table games, seven restaurants, live entertainment, a sporting clays center, a Hale Irwin-designed golf course, a 1,500-seat convention center, Kids Quest Child Care Center and Grand Arcade, three hotels with 1,358 rooms, and a Grand RV Resort.

Tunica County, which boasts a population of fewer than 10,000 (8,160, according to the 1990 census), has nine large casinos, more than 5,000 hotel rooms and more than 104,000 square feet of space for meetings.

Some big name entertainers have ventured into the territory -- Jay Leno, Ray Charles, Joan Rivers, Tanya Tucker, Bill Cosby, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and "Elvis Presley Impersonators" by the dozens.

Every week, you can find a big name on one of the marquees.

As many as 40,000 visitors a day trek into Tunica County.

So, why has the Tunica area emerged into one of the top three gambling meccas in the nation?

The phenomenon comes from Mississippi's fundamentally different legislation on casino gaming.

When the state moved to permit casino gaming in 1990, it took a markedly different approach than most states that now allow some form of casino wagering.

For instance, in some states (Missouri, Iowa, Illinois) casinos are on "riverboats," where clientele must take two-hour "cruises," even though the boats may never leave the wharf. Every two hours, people embark for another "cruise."

Strict wagering limits have been imposed on some gaming sites (Missouri), where patrons are limited to $500 per two-hour cruise. And some riverboats must actually "cruise" (Illinois).

Mississippi's approach is to allow sites, such as Tunica, to have casinos with regulations similar to Vegas and Atlanta City -- 24 hours a day, non-stop, no-limit wagers.

There's more coming to Tunica. Plans are still on for a factory outlet mall, near the casino area, a trolley system to travel among the casinos and hotels, extension of charter airplane flights to Tunica.

The nine Tunica casino include big names:

-- Bally's Saloon and Gambling Hall/Hotel

-- Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel

-- Gold Strike Casino Resort (14-level hotel).

-- Grand Casino and hotel)

-- Harrah's Casino and Hotel

-- Hollywood Casino and Hotel

-- Horseshoe Casino and Hotel

-- Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall

-- Sheraton Casino and Hotel.

Casinos are open 24 hours a day, provide more than a half-million square feet of casino space, and provide more than 12,700 casino jobs.

Casinos have moved into the state in big numbers -- along the coast area at Biloxi, and along the Mississippi River from Tunica south with operations at Tunica, Lula, Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez. An Indian casino is at Philadelphia, Miss., and the Gulf Coast has 11 operations.

What does this mean in total numbers for Mississippi?

-- Thirty casinos, nine of them in the northern Tunica County area.

-- An estimated 50 million visitors a year to the state.

-- A new four-lane highway from South Memphis to Tunica.

-- More than 5,000 total hotel rooms in Tunica County.

-- More than 30,000 casino workers in Mississippi.

-- Casinos grossing more than $2 billion a year.

Tunica County, once America's erstwhile Poverty Poster Child, is now grossing more than $90 million a year in gambling taxes. Casinos, which are grossing more than $800 million a year, have invested more than a billion dollars in the county.

Gulf Coast casinos in Mississippi are grossing about $750 million annually.