CASINO MAGIC-GO GET EM MAMA- The Mississippi Gulf Coast is more like New Orleans in many ways than it is upstate Mississippi. For years most of Mississippi was dry,no liquor. Many a sermon was preached about the evils of alcohol. South Mississippi, more of a French, Spanish and Italian origin than Scotch-Irish, has always been fond of a few drinks and a game of chance and has a history of a tolerance for those activities, even though they technically may not have been legal. Casino Magic has brought Bay Saint Louis 100% legal gaming and is a welcome tourist attraction and good citizen in our community. Some years ago, my mom and I went to a Chamber of Commerce meeting at Casino Magic and my mom left without her sweater. She later called the casino and they had found her sweater. I dropped her off at the front of the casino and she set off to retrieve her well worn sweater. As she was walking into the casino, she was approached by a young man with a lively step. The man came right up in her face, bent over, and said in his most encouraging tone,"Go get em, mama." Miss Alice responded, "I intend to." She came home and painted the painting which was bought a few days by the casino's founder, Marlin Torguson..My mom said the young man was not carrying sacks of money like she painted, but she said she knew by looking at him that he had been a winner. (Casino Magic was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then it has been rebuilt and reopened under the new name of Hollywood Casino.)
