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March 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
Claire Pittman, Public Relations
Manager Laura Newman
Tunica Convention & Visitors
Bureau
Combs & Company
888-488-6422
(501) 664-3000
662-363-3800
lnewman@combsco.com
cpittman@tunicamiss.com
Page 1 of 4
Fly Pan Am Between Atlanta and
Tunica
Scheduled Non-Stop Air Service Is
Coming to Tunica
TUNICA,
Mississippi (March 21, 2006) —Destination Tunica and Pan Am Clipper
Connection today announced the launch of regularly scheduled
non-stop jet service between the Tunica Airport and
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, beginning May
2.
The new
commercial air service is the first for Tunica since the recent
expansion of its airport. The new schedule currently calls for three
flights per week on Pan Am Clipper’s fleet of 141-seat Boeing 727
jets, branded as the Pan Am Clipper Connection.
“This is an
historic day for our growing destination,” said Webster Franklin,
President and CEO of the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“Bringing scheduled air service to Tunica is truly an achievement. A
remarkable amount of cooperation and hard work from the Tunica
Airport, Tunica County and Town of Tunica officials along with our
private sector partners in the Tunica gaming industry have made this
day possible. The Atlanta/Tunica route is strategically geared to
increase visitor access to Tunica and Northwest Mississippi.
Simultaneously, it’s a huge advantage to be able to offer access to
Atlanta and beyond to our residential and business travelers in the
Mid-South.”
Clifton
Johnson, Tunica County Administrator, said, “In several years, we
will all look back on this day as a landmark event. It marks the
moment we took the first step toward introducing Tunica to the
world. The sky is the limit for Destination Tunica.”
“Our
airport was built to support the tourism industry in Tunica,” said
Cliff Nash, executive director of the Tunica County Airport
Commission. “Our increased infrastructure and partnership with Pan
Am is now allowing us to take the next step into scheduled air
service for this area.”
Tunica,
known as “The South’s Casino Capital,” is home to nine big-name
casino resorts plus several new attractions. The destination is the
largest casino resort between Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Tunica
has 6,300 hotel rooms and suites, Vegas-style 24/7 casino gaming
with more than 14,000 slot machines and 400 table games, and nightly
live entertainment in the casino showrooms featuring some of the
world’s best known entertainers.
David Fink,
president of Pan Am Clipper Connection, said, “We are pleased to
expand our services from Atlanta to one of America’s fastest-growing
destinations. Tunica is a great location for entertainment and fun,
and now Atlanta passengers will have fast, easy, and affordable
access to Tunica through our new jet service. We are thrilled to be
the first airline to connect Atlanta and Tunica.”
The
new service is now available for reservations. Details on schedules
and fares can be found online at
www.flypanam.com,
or by calling the Reservations Center at 1-800-359-7262.
The home
base of the Pan Am Clipper Connection is Portsmouth, N.H. The
airline also serves Orlando/Sanford, Fla.; Aguadilla, Puerto Rico;
San Juan, Puerto Rico; Bedford, Mass.; Trenton, N.J.; and
Boston/Portsmouth, N.H.
Five resort
casino properties worked to bring the Pan Am Clipper Connection to
Tunica. Gold Strike Casino Resort, Harrah’s Entertainment, which
includes the Grand Casino, Sheraton, and Horseshoe Resorts, and
Hollywood Casino partnered to bring Tunica to a new level with
scheduled air service.
“Jet
service into Tunica is key to building the destination, and we
consider Atlanta to be a vital
market for us," said Kathy Santiago,
Gold Strike Casino Resort's vice president of casino operations. “We
are grateful for the Tunica County Airport Commission's
participation in promoting this new service and their on-going
efforts to grow jet service into the market,” she added.
"This is a
great next step in creating a national destination for Tunica,
Mississippi. Tunica County is a vibrant, progressive community with
visionary leadership. Harrah's Entertainment, with the Horseshoe,
Sheraton and Grand Resort provides a variety of experiences for
guests traveling to Tunica. With a national data base of over 40
million customers, we are pleased that we will be able to offer
direct scheduled air service into the Tunica market," said Anthony
Sanfilippo, President of the Central Division, Harrah’s
Entertainment.
“We look
forward to partnering with these efforts to increase opportunities
for Destination Tunica,” said Jeff Strang, Vice-President of
Marketing at Hollywood Casino.
In addition
to big-time gaming action, Tunica recently opened the Tunica
RiverPark, which features an award-winning museum, nature trail
through riverside wetlands, fresh-water aquarium, riverboat cruise
and scenic overlook. Tunica is also becoming known as a golfers’
paradise with its three championship golf courses. The newest
course, Tunica National Golf and Tennis Club, is home to
championship golf and tennis year-round, and is a highlight on the
tours of numerous pro and amateur tournaments. Cottonwoods Golf
Course and River Bend Links also offer challenging courses for golf
enthusiasts. The new Tunica Airport, which completed a series of
expansions last year, serves charter jets as well as the new
commercial air service from Pan Am. This multi-million dollar
facility was the first new airport built since the new air security
regulations took effect after the 9-11-01 terrorist attacks.
About
Tunica
Often
described as the Tunica Miracle, this destination is one of
America’s fastest-growing casino resorts. Located 30 minutes south
of Memphis, Tunica welcomes more than 10 million visitors annually
to its nine world-class casino resorts, with more than 6,300 hotel
rooms, over 40 restaurants, championship golf, outdoor recreation,
museums, outlet and antique shopping, and much more. For travel
information, please visit the Tunica website at www.tunicamiss.com
or call Tunica at 1-888-4TUNICA.
About Boston-Maine Airways,
The Pan Am Clipper Connection
The
Boston-Maine Airways name has its roots in the earliest days of
commercial aviation. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, the
Boston & Maine and Maine Central Railroads jointly owned and
operated the original Boston-Maine Airways, which provided
international mail and passenger service throughout the Northeastern
United States and the Canadian Maritimes. In fact, Amelia Earhart
was a Vice President of the original Boston-Maine Airways, which
operated under a contract with a then-fledgling Pan Am. Today’s
Boston-Maine Airways ensures a continuing commitment to quality and
safety by utilizing the latest in computer technology, and was
recently awarded a contract to train pilots for the Federal Aviation
Administration.
About
Gold Strike Casino Resort
Gold Strike
Casino Resort is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE, a premier
entertainment hotel and gaming company. Located 30 minutes south of
Memphis, Tenn., Gold Strike is providing a new standard of
excellence for Tunica casinos. The resort features 1,200 oversized
luxury rooms and suites, three restaurants, a refreshing spa and
salon, an 800-seat showroom 50,000 square feet of gaming space with
50 table games and more than 1,400 slot machines. For information,
visit Gold Strike’s website at www.goldstrike.com.
About
Harrah’s Entertainment
Harrah's
Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded
casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Since its
beginning in Reno, Nevada, 68 years ago, Harrah's has grown through
development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, now
having over 43 properties nationwide.
Harrah's
Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its
customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent
products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and
technology leadership. Harrah’s Entertainment owns and operates
Horseshoe, Sheraton and Grand Casino Resort in Tunica. Grand
Casino
Tunica is northern Mississippi’s most complete destination resort,
20 minutes
from the
Memphis International Airport, and centrally located among many of
the South’s most popular travel attractions. The largest gaming
resort between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, Grand Tunica Resort
spans over 2,000 acres, featuring three elegant hotels (continuous
complimentary shuttle service) surrounding an 18-hole Hale Irwin
designed championship golf course. Popular amenities include indoor
and outdoor swimming pools, a world-class spa and salon, Web TV,
best-in-class sport shooting facility, tennis, expansive RV resort,
six diverse restaurants/cafes, Kids Quest children’s adventure
center and teen arcade, 2,400-seat showroom/event center, 140,000
square-foot casino and 40,000 square feet in
meeting/convention/banquet facilities. Horseshoe is the home of
the best odds and highest limits, loosest slots and biggest
jackpots. Horseshoe has over 500 rooms, with 311 premier suites
that define the expression “living large”. Horseshoe’s Bluesville
Showcase nightclub is the south’s premier venue for live
entertainment. Horseshoe also has an array of dining from fine
dining to the casual buffet. Sheraton Casino and Hotel offers you a
comfortable and delightful experience, with an all suites hotel
boasting marble and granite Jacuzzi tubs in every room. The gaming
is as exciting as ever and is known for the loosest slots in Tunica!
Harrah’s Entertainment in Tunica has something to offer for
everyone!
About Hollywood Casino
Hollywood
Casino, voted Best Overall Hotel and Casino in 2005, has over 1,500
exciting slot machines, more than 35 table games, and a Poker Room
in 54,000 square feet of gaming space. Hollywood offers guests a
variety of award-winning dining experiences: Fairbanks Steakhouse,
The Hollywood Diner and Epic Buffet. While visiting Hollywood
Casino, guests can stay in the luxurious 494-room hotel including 57
luxury suites and golf at the 18-hole Scottish links at River Bend
Links golf course.
-End-
NOTE
TO EDITORS: For a variety of press images featuring the attractions
in Tunica, please contact Laura Newman at
lnewman@combsco.com, or Lynne Boyd at
lboyd@tunicamiss.com, and let us know your
preferences in regard to photo format and content.
For
more information about Tunica’s casino resorts, entertainment and
other attractions, plus a variety of photos, visit the Tunica
website at
www.tunicamiss.com. Images are available
for downloading, or we can provide you with additional photography
from our photo library.
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