Coast casinos make final preparations for New Year’s Eve parties

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - As the year’s end draws near and further distances us from the shutdowns of the pandemic, casinos are in full gear.

“It’s open,” said Brenda Barlow, Golden Nugget Special Events Manager. “I mean we’re ready. We’re ready to party.”

Golden Nugget workers are setting up displays and transforming the ball room into a spot worthy of a New Year’s Celebration.

“Our theme this year is fire and ice,” said Barlow. “It’s one of our biggest events of the year; it’s the night everyone wants to get out. The hotel is already filled, and we have a waiting list.”

On the other side of Beach Boulevard, Harrah’s is preparing to boogie into the new year.

“This will be a year full of party mode,” said Nicholas Breaux-Fujita, the casino’s marketing vice president.

The party is happening all around.

“Our New Year’s Eve experience here at Harrah’s is that we activate the entire casino floor,” said Breaux-Fujita. “We have dancers on platforms, aerialists hanging from the ceiling, disco balls on the casino floors and light shows... at midnight for us, it’s a big countdown with our entertainers and a big confetti drop across the casino floor celebrating the new year.”

It’s a big undertaking, and like any major celebration, there’s a lot of planning.

“This New Year’s Eve, we already told everyone to start thinking about next year,” Breaux-Fujita added. “There’s no better time to plan than when you’re in it, so it really does take an entire year to put all the details together and all the planning.”

“We start planning in August, so it’s kind of hectic for a while from August, September, October,” said Barlow.” Once everything is in place, it pulls together nicely.”

Tickets for both parties will go on sale Friday.

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