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At 600 ft. long and 150 ft. wide, the Grand Casino Biloxi in Biloxi, MS, was almost exactly the size of two football fields positioned end to end. The massive facility, which sat on water atop six barges, was pushed nearly a mile inland across U.S. Highway 90 — a stark example of the incredibly destructive force delivered by Hurricane Katrina as it hit the city. The Grand's fate was representative of the damage experienced by other gambling barges in Biloxi's Casino Row.

The situation wasn't any better for the rest of the community. Extensive damage to buildings, homes, casino hotels and infrastructure had effectively shut down the city and its economy, which depends heavily on tourist dollars to survive.

However, the community's survival instinct quickly kicked in. As the renewal process began, many companies retained their hotel and casino property, while others were sold to new ownership. In both cases, the decision was made, almost universally, to rebuild even bigger.

Demolishing damaged structures

The Grand Casino Biloxi was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment in June 2005, but a prior proposal to improve and rename the establishment was derailed by the storm. In early 2006, Harrah's purchased the Casino Magic Biloxi next door and launched plans to build a destination casino and hotel on the combined site. However, before the new resort could go up, the damaged structures had to come down.

Harrah's awarded Cherry Demolition a $3 million project to remove all of the concrete and existing buildings from the Grand's 17-acre campus. The contractor quickly found itself not just tearing down buildings, but also filling a noticeable material void in the Mississippi road construction industry.