Business - Casinos

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008

Gaming Committee asked to 'tweak' some gaming, tourism laws

Members of the House Gaming Committee met on the Coast today and were asked to mandate a late August start to the school year and to clarify the law that allowed the casinos to move onshore after Hurricane Katrina.

Eleanor “Sissy” Jordan asked what the committee could do to “tweak” House Bill 45 so other casino developers who want to build on the Coast won't meet the same fate as the South Beach Casino. The Mississippi Gaming Commission ruled the R.W. Development property on U.S. 90 at Veterans Avenue was not a legal casino site.

Rep. Earle Banks (D-Jackson) said if the bill were brought up again, “there are forces out there that could kill the whole industry.” He said these forces are getting stronger every year and he told Jordan if House Bill 45 is brought back, “I'm telling you it may not survive."

Without passage of the bill, Rep. Randall Patterson (D-Biloxi) said half of the Coast casinos probably whould not have built back after Hurricane Katrina. The bill passed the House by only three votes, and Patterson said three or four of the House members who supported the bill were defeated last year.

Woody Bailey told the Gaming Committee the Gulf Coast Business Council will ask the legislature to set the start of classes for the fourth week of August to boost tourism. “It makes business sense to do this,” he said.

Read more in Thursday's Sun Herald.