Hard Rock Casino spreads holiday cheer, serves meals to those in need

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - The season of giving is in full gear, and organizations are working across the Coast to share their thanks with the community.

Thursday, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino employees did just that, serving up lunch to people in need at Back Bay Mission.

“It’s just heartwarming,” said Hard Rock GM Todd Raziano. “You know, it’s holiday time. It’s a time to give back. I’ve been the Hard Rock coming up on 18 years and this is our 17th year and I’ve been here every year. What we see on the faces of people here is gratitude. They’re so gracious.”

For Carla Tate and her family, the comfort meal came at just about perfect timing.

“My auntie Mary Louis just lost her son Samuel Louis Jr. and we came over here for the burial,” she explained. “You know, we have to go and try to raise money to put him in the ground, you know, to bury him. So, we were going to Dickie Brothers over there on Delaney, and we came here and saw everybody eating and decided to stop. This is like a $25 meal. We would have to go to a restaurant, s we really appreciate this.”

To Laura Gist and Clayton Herbert, it’s much more than a meal.”

“The food is delicious, don’t get me wrong...,” says Herbert. “...not only that, it’s more like family to me. It is, yeah. I can’t be around my family right now, so.”

“You know, you walk out of here feeling like you really did something kind and good for good people,” said Raziano.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino also partnered with Feeding the Gulf Coast, stuffing hundreds of backpacks full with food items last week for students to enjoy while out of school.

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