Jimmy Buffett casino cutting 200 workers

BILOXI — Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant Biloxi is the smallest of the 12 casinos in South Mississippi by size, yet has the fourth largest number of employees. That is changing as the company adjusts to the end of the summer tourist season by laying off about 200 employees, most of them part-time.

Margaritaville hired nearly 1,000 for its May 22 opening. Traditionally, coast casinos hire extra employees for the opening and the summer and adjust staffing levels seasonally.

Hurricane Isaac added to the layoffs when high water damaged the marina and Landshark Landing, the outdoor bar and dining area directly along the Back Bay.

“Isaac rendered our outdoor area inoperable,” said chief financial officer Scott King.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission reported that at the end of June, Margaritaville had 960 employees, trailing only Beau Rivage, IP Casino and Island View. Without a hotel, Margaritaville had more employees than six other casinos that have hotels.

It’s been a bumpy three months since Jimmy Buffett opened Margaritaville Casino with a concert aired live around the country on the Margaritaville radio station.

The Biloxi property on Fifth Street is the first stand-alone Margaritaville Casino. The first Margaritaville Casino opened last year inside the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas.

A $170 million, 400-room Margaritaville Casino under constr uction at Bossier City, La., is expected to open next year along with a Margaritaville Casino at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.