The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has proposed to build a casino off Highway 57 in Jackson County near Ocean Springs.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the proposed $375 million casino resort would be on 100 acres of Choctaw land.Gov. Haley Barbour said he would veto the project, according to an article in the Clarion-Ledger.
Pete Smith, Barbour’s press secretary, said the governor is opposed to the casino plans primarily because of location.
“The governor has always said he’s opposed to the expansion of gaming beyond the counties that have it now,” Smith said.
Barbour has said the counties who want gaming already have it, Smith said.
Democrat John Eaves, Barbour’s running opponent, said he does not support furthering the gaming industry in the state of Mississippi.
“I do not support the expansion of gaming because I do not believe that we can gamble our way out of poverty or put our faith in the gambling industry to fix our problems,” Eaves said in a statement from press secretary Sharon Garrison. “I have pledged to turn down any campaign contributions from casinos because I do not want to be beholden to their interests over those of hardworking Mississippians.”
Phone calls and messages to both Ken York and Heather Knight of the Choctaw Indian Tribe were not returned.
State Rep. Danny Guice, R-Harrison and Jackson, said the state would have no jurisdiction over the proposed casino because it would be built on Indian territory.
He said the Mississippi Gaming Commission oversees all other casinos in the state but would not oversee this one due to the location.
While other casinos pay 8 percent of their funds to state taxes and 4 percent to local taxes, the Choctaw casino would be exempt from that requirement, which could give it an unfair advantage over the other casinos on the Mississippi Coast, he said.
State Sen. Tommy Moffatt, R-Jackson, said the Choctaw casino would have the option to pay taxes to state and local governments.
Guice said the Choctaw Tribe currently runs two casinos in the state, Golden Moon and Silver Star, both in Philadelphia.
He said the proposed casino would be beneficial in creating jobs for the casino builders and workers.
Another benefit for the Choctaw casino would be the “supposed revenue” that it might create, Guice said.
Moffatt said there are some who would like to see the casino built in Jackson County.
“A lot of business people would like to see it because it would bring economic boom to the county,” he said.
Building a casino would also mean additional police and fire protection, and the Choctaw Tribe would have to take care of that aspect, he said.
The proposed casino would increase competition among the other state casinos, and Moffatt said some in Harrison County think their casino businesses might decrease.
The Choctaw casino would be only 10 miles closer for some tourists; thus the argument that Harrison County casinos might lose business is somewhat debatable, Moffatt said.
Sophomore mechanical engineering major Jake Bryson said he does not mind the casino proposition because casinos have helped the economy in Biloxi and Gulfport. Bryson, now living in Gulfport, is from Long Beach.
“We’re a poor state to begin with, so anything that brings in huge money into the cities helps,” Bryson said.
With the addition of another casino, more tourists might visit Mississippi, thus leading to more income for the state, he said.
Moffatt and Guice said they do not expect Jackson County residents to vote for the casino.
“Over the last 12 years that I’ve served here, the citizens have not wanted a casino in Jackson County,” Moffatt said.
“Strictly a guess, I don’t think they will support it,” Guice said. “They voted it out many years ago and I don’t think they’re ready for that.