The Copa Casino was a casino located in Gulfport , Mississippi ( USA ). Prior to its destruction in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina , it operated a small casino that catered to local residents. The casino was originally housed in a former cruise ship, the Pride of Galveston , then later on a barge built to resemble an on-shore building, but which still floated on water to comply with Mississippi dockside gaming laws. The facility was located in a berth of the Mississippi State Docks.
14-514: In the late 1980s, William "Si" Redd , a renowned figure in the gaming industry known as the "king of slot machines," teamed up with two up-and-coming restaurateurs from the Gulf Coast named Terry Green and Joel “Rick” Carter to form a partnership named Carter-Green-Redd Inc., doing business as Pride Cruise Lines, Inc., to establish a casino that would operate on a floating platform off the coast of Mississippi in international waters, where gambling
28-726: A gaming boat off the coast of Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico , but it went bankrupt and he lost US$ 20 million in it. He was the owner of Oasis , a hotel and casino in Mesquite, Nevada , from 1976 to 2001. He sold it for US$ 31 million. Meanwhile, he founded the Mesquite Vistas Land Development Co. and the Oasis Golf Course. Redd was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1991, and
42-1023: The Nevada Business Hall of Fame in 2002. Redd made charitable contributions to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas , where he was a member of the UNLV Gift Club Palladium Society. Moreover, the Si Redd Room and the Redd Vision video screen scoreboard at the Thomas & Mack Center are named in his honor. He received the Chin's Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Muscular Dystrophy Association in 2001. Redd founded
56-620: The Pier 21 immigration facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada . In March 1962 Edward & Alex Van Halen , and their parents Jan & Eugenia Van Halen, immigrated to the US aboard the SS Ryndam . In 1973, she was sold to a Panamanian subsidiary of a Greek shipping interest and extensively refitted with her bow line changed, many internal changes, and alterations to her superstructure. This
70-717: The Reno, Nevada , market. Redd founded a subsidiary, Bally Distribution Co., and he distributed jukeboxes in Carson City, Nevada , and Las Vegas. He also acquired the rights to video poker . In 1975, he founded Sircoma, later known as the International Game Technology , a slot machine manufacturer and distributor based in Reno, Nevada. He sold it to Gtech in 1986, and he served on its board of directors until 1991. Redd developed Pride of Mississippi ,
84-671: The University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi . Redd began his career in college, when he invested in a pinball machine in a small eatery in Mississippi. He subsequently founded Northwestern Music Co., and he distributed Wurlitzer jukeboxes in Sterling, Illinois , and Dixon, Illinois , with his brother-in-law. He subsequently became a distributor for Bally Manufacturing in Boston, Massachusetts . In 1967, he moved on to
98-536: The Copa catered to a locals market, featuring low-minimum table games and relatively high paybacks on slot machines and video poker . The storm surge from Katrina swept the barge onto the parking lot of the neighboring Grand Casino Gulfport , with the barge coming to rest against the Grand's parking deck. In December 2005, Harrah's Entertainment announced a deal to sell the former Grand site and remaining assets to
112-699: The Las Vegas International Cultural Trade Center and Wild Animal Conservancy. He donated US$ 150,000 to Problem Gambling Consultants, a non-profit organization for gambling addicts . Redd was married three times. His first wife, Ivy Lee, died in 1974. His second wife, Marilyn, died in 1996. His third wife, Tamara, outlived him. He had two daughters, Vinnie Copeland and Sherry Green. He resided in Las Vegas, Nevada , and summered in Solana Beach, California . He
126-526: The owners of the Copa. The Copa owners are using the new site for the new Island View Casino , which has opened a temporary land-based facility (now allowed after regulations were relaxed after Katrina) in the Grand's former hotel on the north side of Beach Boulevard. The new Phase I facility features the company's first hotel. 30°21′43″N 89°06′01″W / 30.361826°N 89.100151°W / 30.361826; -89.100151 William Redd William Redd , also known as Si Redd (1911–2003)
140-534: The prewar Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies). The original intent of her design was to be designated as the freighter Dinteldyk (which was also designed to carry a small complement of passengers). A decision was made to have her redesigned as a liner in 1950, but she still retained the stout hull lines and sturdy machinery of a freighter. The ship played a major role in post-war immigration from Europe making frequent voyages to New York City and
154-714: Was a member of the Las Vegas Country Club . Redd died on October 14, 2003, in Solana Beach, California. He was 91 years old. His funeral was held at the Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas, Nevada. SS Ryndam (1950) SS Ryndam was an ocean liner built for Holland America Line in 1951. She was built by N.V. Dok en Werfmaatschappij Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam. She was christened by Mrs. C. Tjarda van Stakenborgh Stachouwer-Marburg (wife of
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#1732790591185168-771: Was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of International Game Technology , a slot machine manufacturer and distributor. He was the owner of the Oasis , a hotel and casino in Mesquite, Nevada . He was the rightsholder of video poker , and he became known as the "king of slot machines". Redd was born on November 16, 1911, in Union, Mississippi . His father was a sharecropper. He grew up in Philadelphia, Mississippi . Redd attended East Central Junior College in Decatur, Mississippi , and he graduated from
182-481: Was done to give her a more modern (at the time) 1970s design appearance. In 1988 she was sold to gaming interests and performed short cruises in the Gulf of Mexico under the name Pride of Mississippi , and in 1991 was renamed Pride of Galveston . In 1993, with her engines inoperable, she was towed to Gulfport, Mississippi where she was docked permanently and became the Copa Casino . When Copa Casino adopted
196-607: Was legal. They bought a 40-year-old ship to be used as a gaming property. The ship was renamed Pride of Mississippi in 1988 and, after relocation to Texas, Pride of Galveston in 1991. In 1993 she was docked permanently in Gulfport, Mississippi and became the Copa Casino . When Copa Casino adopted a more permanent structure—a barge—the vessel was sold to be scrapped. As one of the two only casinos in Gulfport or Biloxi not to have an attached hotel (other than Boomtown Casino),
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