Mississippi Riverboat Casino Damaged

Natchez, Mississippi does not have lady luck on its side as a fleet of barges managed to break free from their moorings and escape down the Mississippi River.  The barges had the first responders scrambling up and down the river searching for them but the 24 barges still managed to cause havoc as they floated free.  One of the struck the Mississippi River Bridge on its northern pylon while another struck the Grand Soleil Casino, a riverboat casino that is still under construction and docked in the Natchez-Adams Port.

Investigators believe that the runaway barges struck the riverboat casino and punctured the hull.  Water has been flowing steadily in through the hull breach and officials are not exactly sure if the barge that struck the casino was one that was tied up a few hundred yards away or the loose barge that struck the docked barge that had been floating free.  Coast Guardsmen and the local police came down to the port to assess the damage to the casino and the pylon and to see if they could find a way to stop the leak.

Construction on the Grand Soleil Casino is almost finished, but now workers will have to secure the casino and assess any additional damages that have occurred.  No one is sure whether or not the casino was hit by a barge.  So far, investigator’s are now looking for the supposed barge breach, but have yet determined where the water is coming in from, making them think that it may not have been hit at all.  When the casino is finally opened, it will have 850 slot machines, 17 table games, a poker room and a 124 room hotel with two restaurants adjoining it.

Officials, while concerned over the casino, are investigating the bridge to see if it had been damaged by the runaway barges.  The Mississippi Department of Transportation did not close the bridge after the incident, but Coast Guardsmen were keeping an eye on it while waiting for the bridge inspectors to arrive and assess the bridge’s safety.  Supposedly the bridge was designed to withstand impacts similar to the one it suffered from the barge.  It is considered standard procedure for the MDOT to come and inspect the bridges after any form of impact to one of the pylons.

There is still no word as to how much damage was done to the casino or the cause of the water that is flowing inside of it.