Of all the destinations I frequent when I travel, I can’t
think of any location that looks more out of place than the islands of casinos
and the strip of commercialization that connects them that appear out of
nowhere in the north Mississisppi Delta about 15 minutes north of Tunica, Miss., and a half hour south of Memphis, Tenn.
Yet, somehow the Tunica Resorts area works, probably for
the reasoning that Las Vegas works in the middle of a desert. There’s not much else there. And, in fact, the casinos that were built in
part of unincorporated Robinsonville, Miss., starting in 1995 were at one point
the third largest gaming destination in the country (the ever-expanding gaming
industry has since pushed it back to eighth place). To me, the draw was a fun, affordable halfway
point in between my home and New Orleans.
The rooms are typically cheap, the slots are often loose and the
atmosphere is undoubtedly mini-Vegas. I
thought The April would love it.
The April did, in fact, love the Jacuzzi suite I chose. But here’s the problem if it turns out crowds,
noisy casinos and giant imposing glitzy structures aren’t your thing: Your dinner choices at Tunica Resorts are
either at the casino or a smattering of fast food joints and chains near an
outlet mall on that same commercial strip surrounded by cotton fields.
We almost resorted into driving into Memphis until I
remembered the one place in old Robinsonville (the only place, in fact) that,
thanks to my love for the blues, I’d always wanted to go to: the Hollywood Café.
