South to Hollywood In search of Tinseltown treasures in Tunica. by Meredith Pierce step into Tunica’s Hollywood Casino early Friday morning and am immediately hit with 54,000 square feet of gambling space filled to the brim with movie memorabilia. It’s their shtick. As Jim Fitzpatrick, director of marketing at Hollywood Casino, says, “People recognize that you need more than just gaming. You need good food and other entertainment.” Fitzgeralds has got “the luck of the Irish.” Sam’s Town is modeled after the Old West. Hollywood Casino is a mecca for movie buffs. I meet up with Fitzpatrick and ask for the grand tour. He is ready and willing, the classic mix of slick P.R. guy, casual Southern innocence, and a kick of New Jersey, his home state. As he begins to point out different display cases, I am bombarded by original movie posters and celebrity photos ranging from a James “King of the World” Cameron-autographed Titanic poster to a signed movie contract sent to Joan Crawford. I’m sure most of these rare artifacts are overlooked. They practically wallpaper any empty spaces as though they were secondary throwaway fillers. Some of the larger displays feature the cars from Back to the Future, the Flintstones, and Elvis’ Cobra 427. After jumping on the motorcycle from Easy Rider for a quick photo opportunity, Fitzpatrick admits it’s his favorite item, “Just because the era that it came from was the era when I was growing up. And then the other things would be Elvis. Just to watch the impact that memorabilia has on those people, you gotta enjoy it.” If Elvis is your thing, Hollywood Casino is not a second Graceland. It does, however, have a number of costumes, such as Elvis’ jacket from Double Trouble, and a ring that was donated by one of Elvis’ old girlfriends. Hollywood Casino has a brother in Aurora, Illinois. The two casinos do not trade memorabilia, as a rule,but they look out for one another’s interests. Tunica gets Elvis gear. Aurora gets Wayne’s World and The Blues Brothers. Fitzpatrick, along with the vice president of design at Hollywood Casino Corporation, David Cranmer, scans the Hollywood scene and auction houses, such as Christie’s and Sothebys’, for the most popular merchandise. I ask Fitzpatrick how much money they are allotted each year to fund their quests. He will not comment exactly, but admits that if they find something special, the money is there. One “something special” is the 1/8-scale model of the Titanic Hollywood Casino has floating in the tiny water-filled moat surrounding the gambling area. A lot of hoopla and moolah was sunk into that project. Gloria Stuart, the older Rose in the movie, even came for the opening. Fitzpatrick says that of all the memorabilia, the Titanic is the most popular “because it broke so many records.” All in all, the casino has more than 300 pieces of memorabilia. “You never know what’s out there,” says Fitzpatrick, “You try not to waste all your time. We get calls every week. I filter them...It is very competitive.” As I head back toward Memphis, I am constantly reminded of where I just spent my morning. The casinos in Tunica are certainly not shy about billboard advertising. My intention had been to hear some interesting wheelin’ and dealin’ stories. I expected to find a man whose love of movies drew him to his job, and sent him into the trenches of Hollywood to fight for memorabilia. I was a little too idealistic about that one. Fitzpatrick’s a man with a job, a fun job, but just a job. He’s a casino man, not a movie man. Before Tunica he worked in Atlantic City, and various riverboat and Indian-reservation gaming casinos. As for stories, things haven’t been lost, broken, or stolen. No scandal, at least none Fitzpatrick had any intention of telling me. Fitzpatrick says the guests of the casino “are very respectful of the objects. We’ve never had a problem that I’m aware of, just a lot of fingerprints.”