by Ezabelle Janssen, Staff Writer

GULFPORT (GG) — Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Mississippi traded the usual chime of slot machines for the thunder of horsepower on Saturday, March 21st, as it hosted its 2026 Inaugural Hot Rod Car Show. By mid-morning, the parking lot transformed into a full-throttle showcase of chrome and color. What was expected to be a modest debut quickly shifted gears. 

Rows of polished classics, custom builds, and rumbling V8s stretched across the lot, from meticulously restored cruisers to bold, modern muscle. The show delivered a Top 100 competition, along with honors for top trucks and standout builds, but the real story wasn’t just in the awards. It was in the turnout. 

Island View’s Director of advertising and events, Steve Greenfield, was thrilled yet overcome by the unexpected turnout, “We were so happy with the turnout we had, I mean, we were expecting maybe about 150 cars, but ended up being 247 cars actually checked in. And we let in about another eight or nine cars that were too late to check in to be part of the competition, but we let them park because they wanted to donate to the charity, which is a children’s charity in Louisiana this year. But it was a great turnout with so many cars from all over Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama. I saw car tags from Virginia, South. People were telling me this is the best car show that they’ve been to outside of the big one we always have on the coast at the end of the year. Still, this one here is just for the spring, it’s the best car show they’ve been to.”

The various license plates turned the inaugural event into something much bigger, and while the vehicles may have been the headliners, the atmosphere followed close behind, with music, food, and a steady flow of spectators keeping the energy high from start to finish. 

“Island View has been so pleased with how nice everybody was and how patient they were and, you know, car people are just, they’re a different kind of people. It’s just so wonderful to come out. They love their cars; they love everybody else’s cars. They don’t care what you have. They’re so happy you came out with them and just spent the day. And I think it’s really what it was. They were happy. There was such a big turnout and now we’re putting on our thinking caps about if we’re going to pull it off next year. There’ll be a lot more cars. There’ll be a lot, lot more cars! We need to think about that and figure out those little details. But yeah, it’s been great.”

Island View hit the gas, and the Coast showed up right alongside it, ready for whatever revs up next year.