When one of the leaders of Mississippi's Choctaw Tribe enrolled more
than a year ago in an online casino marketing course offered by the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he developed a rapport with his
professor that is now helping Tulane University expand its
casino-industry curriculum.
Tulane this fall will begin teaching casino management courses at the
Pearl River Resort, a giant casino complex developed by the Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians at the edge of Philadelphia.
Tulane launched the plan as a result of ties between Tim Ben,
education manager for the Mississippi Choctaws, and Alan Silver, a New
York native hired to direct Tulane's casino and resort management
program.
Tulane's partnership with the tribe mimics its efforts elsewhere. The
university has offered as many as eight casino management classes since
late 2003 at a branch in Edgewater Mall in Biloxi and holds several such
courses in the New Orleans Shopping Centre mall next to the Superdome or
in the Elmwood office park in Jefferson Parish.