New museum addition progressing nicely at the Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center

TUNICA, Miss. — A new blues museum will open this January as a part of an expanded Gateway to the Blues Vistor Center, when the center officially becomes the Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center & Museum, according to tunicatravel.com. 

The visitor center is located alongside blues highway 61 in Tunica Resorts. Just 20 miles from Memphis’s Beale Street and Elvis’ Graceland, the expanded vistors center and museum will serve as a great stop for tourists and music lovers searching for that authentic blues experience. 

The 3,500 square foot museum will feature the following galleries:

What Is Blues Music

Why Here? (Mississippi Delta)

Evolution of Style and Form

Mississippi Bluesmen

Evolution of the Guitar

Blues Lyric Interactive

Highlights of the museum will include videos from local historian Willy Beardon and blues artists Preston Shannon and Eden Brent.  Visitors will end their journey with local bluesman Memphis Jones in the Blues Lyric Interactive where he will assist you in the production of your very own blues song. 

Once recorded, the Gateway to the Blues Museum staff will email each visitor a copy of their song as a memento of their visit to Tunica and the Mississippi Delta. 

The name “Gateway” was given to this project because the Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center is truly the gateway to the larger blues and music product that can be found throughout the Mississippi Delta.  

Whether traveling the Blues Trail, visiting one of the many blues attractions in Clarksdale or attending an event at the BB King Blues Museum in Indianola, the Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center and Museum will serve as the perfect first stop and educate all on why this original music art form originated and flourished from this unique landscape.

The blues, born among the hot, humid and dusty Mississippi Delta fields makes this marketing tagline about as true and original as any that you will ever hear or read.

Arguably Mississippi’s greatest export; blues music has been experienced across the airwaves on radios and televisions the world-over.  Today however, millions of people from around the globe are taking the 18th century poet John Keats’ words to heart and visiting Mississippi where this truest form of experiential music was born.

The Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center and Museum will become real with visitors from around the world being able to experience this one of a kind music attraction in 2015.  Follow us on twitter @TunicaBlues and check in with www.tunicatravel.com for the most up to date and accurate times for the official grand opening of Mississippi’s newest blues music experience. For more gaming news, click here: Jackpot! Magazine.

Win a Ford F-350 at Southland Park Gaming & Racing

F-350 GIVEAWAY IN NOVEMBER!

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Southland Park Gaming wants you to keep on truckin’ with its Duckin’ and Truckin’ Giveaway. Pick a duck for your chance to win a Ford F-350.

Ford F-350

Guests earn one entry for every 50 points earned daily. On Saturdays in November, ten guests will be drawn at 8 and 10 p.m. using Southland’s E-Draw System to draw a duck. The guest will receive the free play prize they draw along with a finalist ticket to bring back for the final drawing on Nov. 29, where one lucky winner will win an F-350 Truck.



CAR GIVEAWAY TONIGHT!
Tonight, Friday, Nov. 14, Southland will give away a car in the Ford 14th Giveaway. Player Rewards members are invited to swipe their card at a promotional kiosk beginning at 6 p.m. for a chance to win. On Nov. 14 at 10 p.m., one winner will be drawn for 2014 Ford vehicle. Southland will also give away another Ford car on Dec. 14, so mark your calendar.

Tunica's Casino Strip hosts three-casino $100,000 Slot Tournament Nov. 27, 28 & 29

Invitational and buy-in event at Hollywood, Resorts and Sam's Town casinos

TUNICA RESORTS — Tunica’s Casino Strip will be a slot players’ mecca when the casinos of Casino Strip host the $100,000 Invitational & Buy-In Slot Tournament in November. The joint tournament will be hosted by Hollywood Casino, Resorts Casino and Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall and is open to the public. 

Qualified players will receive a free invitation by mail or via promotional entry from one of the three properties. * 

All other players without an invitation may enter the tournament with a $200 buy-in fee. 

Only one $200 buy-in fee will be allowed per person and comp dollars are not permitted for buy-ins. 

To be eligible, players must have or obtain a Hollywood Casino Marquee Rewards Players card, Resorts Casino Rewards Club Players card and a Sam’s Town B-Connected Players card. All players cards are free with a valid state or federal ID. One must be 21 years of age or older to participate in this event. Players eligible to receive one entry either by invitation or buy-in. 

The length of tournament play and scores will vary at each participating casino. At Hollywood Casino Tunica the round is three minutes.  At Resorts Casino Tunica and Sam’s Town Casino Tunica the rounds are five minutes.

Early registration will be held at Hollywood from 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27. Early registrants will receive 500 bonus points (T-shirt to first 1,200 registrants). Regular registration will be held at Hollywood on Friday, Nov. 28, from 3 to 8 p.m.

Sam’s Town will hold the Saturday, Nov. 29 morning check-in, score update and drawings.  Registration for the drawings will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the slot tournament area.  The drawing will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the slot tournament area. Twenty-one winners will receive $100 cash. Winners are not required to be present during the drawing to win. Cash prizes will be awarded at Sam’s Town throughout the day at the B Connected Club. Cash prizes will also be available for pick up at the awards banquet following tournament play. Cash prizes will again be available for pickup at Sam’s Town B Connected Club from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30. Any cash prizes not claimed by 10 p.m. on Sunday will be forfeited.

Resorts will host the awards announcement Saturday, Nov. 29, at approximately 9 p.m.

Each participant must play one round at each casino property. Tournament play will begin for Round 1 at each property at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. Tournament play will begin for Round 2 at each property at 9am on Saturday, Nov. 29 and tournament play will begin for Round 3 at each property at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29.

Each player will have three scores (one score per casino). All three scores will be added together to determine the final tournament score. At registration, players will be assigned his or her session times and locations.  Registration times and locations are final. 

All tourney prizes will be given out at the Awards Ceremony at Resorts Casino on Saturday, Nov. 29. Winners are not required to be present to win. Free Slot Play prizes will be downloaded to the player’s account. Prizes will be awarded in descending order based on the highest to lowest. Prize are:

First pays $10,000 Cash & $15,000 Free Slot Play. Second through 150^th place will be paid in Free Slot Play as follows: 2nd, $15,000; 3rd, $9,000; 4th, $7,500; 5th, $5,000; 6th, $2,500; 7th, $1,500; 8th, $1,250; 9th-15th, $1,000; 16th-30th, $500; 31st-75th, $250 and 76th-150th, $100.

The cash prize will be will be divided by three and will be available for pickup at the cashier counter at each participating casino until Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014.  Any cash prize not claimed by 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014 will be forfeited. Free slot play prize amounts will be divided by three and will be valid at each participating casino. For example, 3rd place winner receives $9,000 free slot play — $3,000 will be available at each participating casino. The designated free slot play must be played at each participating casino and is not transferable from one casino to another. Free slot play prize amounts are valid for 60 days from Nov. 29, 2014. Any free slot play remaining after the 60 day time period will expire and be forfeited.

All rounds and final scores will be posted at the Awards Ceremony and posted at the Service Center/Club/Cage of each participating casino.

For complete rules and information on this tournament are available at participating casinos. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please call 1-888-777-9696 for help.

* If an invitation is received from multiple casinos, only one will be accepted and be valid. One entry per person regardless of the number of invitation/offers received.  No transference of entry and no substitutions.  Invited players cannot purchase a second entry.

Food Drive for Northwest Mississippi families

WALLS, Miss. — Food Drive for Northwest Mississippi families: Sacred Heart Southern Missions is providing holiday baskets and turkeys to 671 families this year. Help by donating non-perishable items by Nov. 18. Food can be dropped off at 6144 Hwy 161 North (Old Hwy 61) in Walls, Miss. Call (662) 342-3316 or 342-3184 for more information or to make a monetary donation.
Items needed include:
Canned vegetables, canned cream soups, mac & cheese, potatoes/potato flakes, sugar, flour, corn meal, cake mix/frosting, canned fruit, chicken broth, peanut butter, gravy mix, salt/pepper/sage/vanilla/cinnamon, marshmallows, french fried onions.

World Twinkie Eating Championship at Bally's Casino Tunica Saturday, Nov. 8

 Joey Chestnut to defend his title in TV event 

TUNICA RESORTS, Miss. — A world championship will take place at Bally’s Casino this weekend in a televised live event that is guaranteed golden… and cream filled.

World Twinkie Eating Champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut will seek to defend his sponge cake supremacy as he battles arch rival Matt Stonie and other competitive eating titans at the 2014 World Twinkie-Eating Championship taking place on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. at Bally’s Casino.

Winning is golden and cream-filled at this event.

Last year, Chestnut set a Twinkie-eating world record by consuming 121 Twinkies in six minutes – about one every three seconds. However, the 30-year-old veteran narrowly held off a fearsome challenge by Stonie, the 22-year-old known as Megatoad, in the annual hot dog eating competition and lost in back to back battles over poutine and pumpkin pie during the 2014 season. Looking to pull off an upset against – and take home the top prize of $5,000 – will be Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan and Badlands Booker.

The Twinkie mascot is a popular fellow.

“It is an honor to host this world-class sporting event, and we are confident that Joey Chestnut will again make history, besting his 2013 world record performance of 121 Twinkies in six minutes,” said Eddie Llambias, vice president and general manager of Bally’s Casino. “The Bally’s World Twinkie-Eating Championship is the fastest six minutes in sports.”

ESPN3 will broadcast the event live from Tunica. ESPN also airs the Nathan’ Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held every July Fourth on Coney Island. This year’s contest delivered a 1.6 HH US rating and 2.8 million viewers on ESPN2, making it the highest-rated and most-watched contest telecast ever on the ESPN networks. ESPN3 also carried the U.S. National Buffalo Wing-Eating Championship this summer for the first time.

“The Twinkie is acknowledged throughout the competitive eating world as the most elegant possible delivery system for snack cake satisfaction, and our eaters are honored to participate in this contest,” said Major League Eating Chairman George Shea. “If it were up to MLE, the United States would adopt the Twinkie as a unit of measurement for deliciousness.”