TJM Properties Snaps Up Former Harrah’s Resort

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Harrah’s Tunica (courtesy timesfreepress.com)

TJM Properties is now the owner of the 2,000-acre Harrah’s Tunica Hotel & Casino in Tunica, Miss., having taken the 2,000-acre resort destination off the hands of Caesar’s Entertainment Corp.

The doors of Harrah’s Tunica have been shuttered since June 2014, when Caesar’s closed the property amid declining business and growing competition in the city known as the “Casino Capital of the South.” Tunica, an area located on the Mississippi River, is home to world class casinos, 6000 hotel rooms, fine dining restaurants, luxury spas and championship golf and tennis facilities.

In 2015, Caesar’s put the property up for auction as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring. Now, Caesar’s loss is TJM’s gain.

Opened in 1996, Harrah’s Tunica is a multi-faceted property, featuring 600 guestrooms in two hotels; a 45,000-square-foot convention complex; an 800-acre hunting lodge; a golf course and a kids’ center. But that’s just the entertainment portion of the program. The property is also home to a commercial laundry facility, office and industrial buildings and farm land. It’s quite a handful, but TJM has plans for how to handle the sprawling complex.

“We have a number of offers for all of the parcels of the property, and several parties expressed interest in purchasing the entire resort,” Terence J. McCarthy, president of TJM Properties, confirmed. “We are finalizing our plans on what we may keep and what we will sell and will be reviewing all these offers in the coming weeks.”

TJM Properties is a privately held real estate firm that has been focused on growing its hotel portfolio, particularly in Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania under the Quality Inn, Baymont Inn, Howard Johnson, and Radisson flags. TJM also owns The Claridge Hotel and Atlantic Club in Atlantic City, N.J.