Proposed Biloxi casino survives lawsuit, but clock is ticking to start building
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge upheld Gaming Commission's 2023 site approval for RW casino project.
- RW Development faces December 2026 deadline to finalize plans and financing.
- Construction of $3M public pier remains unfinished 20 months after site approval.
RW Development is more than halfway into its 3-year deadline to get a license for a casino at Veterans Avenue in Biloxi and the project just survived another challenge.
Treasure Bay Casino appealed the December 2023 decision by the Mississippi Gaming Commission to approve the property north and south of U.S. 90 as a legal casino site. Treasure Bay is about half a mile from the RW Development casino site.
The hearing in Harrison County Circuit Court was on Oct. 8, 2024. Judge Larry Bourgeois denied the appeal on Aug. 27. He ruled, in part, that the gaming commission followed the regulations and the pier RW Development proposes building as part of the casino meets the requirement as an “essential” part of the entire project.
Site approval was granted in December 2023, when owner Ray Wooldridge came before the gaming commission after being denied three times. This time he had a Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that said Wooldridge could lease waterfront property from Biloxi and Harrison County to get the necessary connection of his property to the water’s edge, without a state tidelands lease.
That site approval came with several conditions and a big deadline:
- Site approval expires in three years, or around the end of 2026. That gives RW Development a short time to get its financing in order and present final plans to the gaming commission to proceed with construction.
- Site approval is conditioned on maintaining the lease with Biloxi and Harrison County, and requires the construction of a handicapped-accessible pier, estimated to cost more than $3 million as first presented, and maintain it for public use.
- Site approval can’t be transferred to another party without approval by the gaming commission.
- The casino floor must be within 800 feet of the mean high-water line as required since Hurricane Katrina.
Wooldridge worked for 15 years to get site approval for a casino which, if built, would be the ninth in Biloxi and the 13th in South Mississippi.
The company could request an extension of the deadline, or could reapply for site approval if the developer can’t get the financing and other necessary documents complete in time.
Since site approval 20 months ago, work hasn’t started on the pier. Originally proposed as a $3 million pier, it was scaled down to $1 million, eliminating plans for food and entertainment on the pier. The previous pier on that site was demolished by Hurricane Katrina.
