Will Coast casinos close for looming tropical system? What retiring director predicts
He’s just starting his 11th hurricane season as executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission and it will be the last for Allen Godfrey.
As he prepares to retire after 25 years of public service, Godfrey is watching Invest 92-L to see what kind of weather the tropical system will bring to South Mississippi and its 12 casinos this weekend.
He doesn’t expect any casino closures will be necessary, he said.
Father’s Day Weekend will be busy in South Mississippi , as people head to the casinos and restaurants to be entertained during the rain.
Any mandatory evacuation orders will be heeded, he said, and flooding in an area could require an individual casino to close temporarily until the water recedes.
This tropical weather is coming much earlier than usual. The Gaming Commission will send out tropical storm procedures to casino operators next week, he said.
Godfrey has been with the Gaming Commission since 2003. He was the director of the compliance division before being named executive director in 2011. A Certified Public Accountant, he previously worked worked at the Mississippi State Tax Commission and as the deputy director of the state Alcohol Beverage control.
Godfrey was honored as the International Masters of Gaming Law Regulator of the Year for North American in 2016 in Las Vegas.
The Gaming Commission has named Jay McDaniel, the deputy director since 2011, as the next executive director.
“I commend the commission for that decision,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey will retire on Aug. 31, his 60th birthday. He intends to keep working, he said, although he doesn’t yet have his next job lined up yet.
The decision to retire was most difficult, he said, because of the people he works with.
“The industry, I love it,” he said. “Been a part of it since Day 1.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 2:11 PM.
