Ya Think?

Mississippi could consider land-based casinos
Devastation of gulf coast gambling industry could sway legislators
…Mississippi requires casinos to float, either along the Gulf Coast or on the Mississippi River. A state law that took effect earlier this year allows the floating casinos to build permanent pilings to stabilize the barges…
…Some lawmakers, particularly religious conservatives, have opposed land-based casinos along the coast or the Mississippi River because they fear other, inland counties would push for gambling house, too.

One important point missing from this article is that a gazillion ton casino barge washed ashore and landing on your historic waterfront Victorian, local motel or humble 50’s home makes it damn difficult to survive a hurricane, too. If I owned one of those houses in Biloxi that’s underneath, I’d be suing the state legislature. I mean, since I have nothing but time now, anyway.
UPDATE: The fall out from this is going to enormous for the state.

…Now, the Magnolia State is fighting to keep the lucrative travel industry alive.
Larry Gregory, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC), hopes to do that, although he’s not fully confident that the gaming companies are willing to come back and rebuild their businesses. And there are now some indications that his task is daunting — particularly if there’s no change in the state’s 12-year-old gambling law that mandates casinos operate only on water in floating barges…
…Harrah’s spokesman Alberto Lopez said Monday the company’s decision whether or not to return was reflected in “comments made by our CEO Gary Loveman that Harrah’s will return to the Gulf Coast bigger and better,” Lopez said. “But the state’s legislature has to revisit the current laws.” …
…All 13 of the region’s casinos in Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis are closed and more than half were “completely destroyed” by the storm. The state is losing $500,000 in gambling tax every day as a result, Gregory said.
“The other challenge is that insurance companies won’t want to cover them if they operate on water,”…
…”We have a very serious situation facing the future of our casino industry,” Gregory said, important enough for the governor to possibly call a special summit of the state’s legislature to completely overhaul the gambling law and allow inland gambling options, similar to those in neighboring Louisiana…

2 Responses to “Ya Think?”

1. Ken Summers says:

   September 5, 2005 at 10:34 pm

   Lurk.

2. tree hugging sister says:

   September 5, 2005 at 11:41 pm

   (‘Bout time.)