In the Wake of Katrina, Mississippi Approves Onshore Casinos

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In the Wake of Katrina, Mississippi Approves Onshore Casinos Jessica Ruthven, SGLC Research Associate Prior to Hurricane Katrina, casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were relegated to operating on offshore floating barges. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, most of the coastal casinos were damaged, and casino executives were left with the decision of whether or not to rebuild the gambling establishments. A heated debate ensued over whether to build shore-based casinos. The casinos provide an important source of state tax revenue for Mississippi. It is estimated that the casinos generated $500,000 a day in state and local taxes before Katrina.1 Due in part to the tax revenue generated on both the state and local levels, Governor Haley Barbour was unwilling to give casino executives a reason to leave the state. In a bid to retain the sizeable tax revenue the state receives from the coastal casino industry, Barbour swiftly presented a proposal to Mississippi lawmakers suggesting that Gulf Coast casinos be allowed to rebuild inland. The new onshore gaming law was met with accolades from casino executives, builders, and members of the local population who had been left without jobs. While many people in the state, including the governor, wanted to see the coastal region continue its reign as a prominent casino and resort destination, there were others who vehemently opposed the new gaming law. Many lawmakers saw the issue as a question of morality. The Mississippi Baptist Convention and its pastors protested the law and continued to assert that allowing the casinos inland would contribute to the moral decay of the state and should not be allowed. Despite the controversy, on October 17, 2005, in a special legislative session, Mississippi lawmakers passed a new onshore gaming law that allowed casinos to move inland and build within 800 feet of the waterfront.2 With the ability to move on land, comes the ability to expand the structural size of the casinos. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast casinos provided an estimated 17,000 jobs, and authorities expect the number will increase to 25,000 within several years of the passage of the new onshore gambling law.3 The Imperial Palace was the first casino to reopen on December 22, 2005, and most have now followed suit. Endnotes 1. Rogelio Solis, Mississippi Casino Boats Are Moving onto Dry Land, available at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-18-casinos-miss_x.htm . 2.A copy of HB 45 is available at: http://index.ls.state.ms.us/isysnative/ (Click on “2005 Fifth Extraordinary Session” and search “gaming.”) 3.Donna Blevins, Rebuilding Mississippi Gulf Coast, available at: http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/viewarticle.php?id=1010&sort=author
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In the Wake of Katrina, Mississippi Approves Onshore Casinos

Jessica Ruthven, SGLC Research Associate

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, casinos on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were relegated to operating on offshore floating barges. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, most of the coastal casinos were damaged, and casino executives were left with the decision of whether or not to rebuild the gambling establishments. A heated debate ensued over whether to build shore-based casinos.

The casinos provide an important source of state tax revenue for Mississippi. It is estimated that the casinos generated $500,000 a day in state and local taxes before Katrina.1 Due in part to the tax revenue generated on both the state and local levels, Governor Haley Barbour was unwilling to give casino executives a reason to leave the state.

In a bid to retain the sizeable tax revenue the state receives from the coastal casino industry, Barbour swiftly presented a proposal to Mississippi lawmakers suggesting that Gulf Coast casinos be allowed to rebuild inland. The new onshore gaming law was met with accolades from casino executives, builders, and members of the local population who had been left without jobs.

While many people in the state, including the governor, wanted to see the coastal region continue its reign as a prominent casino and resort destination, there were others who vehemently opposed the new gaming law. Many lawmakers saw the issue as a question of morality. The Mississippi Baptist Convention and its pastors protested the law and continued to assert that allowing the casinos inland would contribute to the moral decay of the state and should not be allowed.

Despite the controversy, on October 17, 2005, in a special legislative session, Mississippi lawmakers passed a new onshore gaming law that allowed casinos to move inland and build within 800 feet of the waterfront.2 With the ability to move on land, comes the ability to expand the structural size of the casinos. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast casinos provided an estimated 17,000 jobs, and authorities expect the number will increase to 25,000 within several years of the passage of the new onshore gambling law.3 The Imperial Palace was the first casino to reopen on December 22, 2005, and most have now followed suit.

Endnotes
1. Rogelio Solis, Mississippi Casino Boats Are Moving onto Dry Land, available at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-18-casinos-miss_x.htm .
2.A copy of HB 45 is available at: http://index.ls.state.ms.us/isysnative/ (Click on “2005 Fifth Extraordinary Session” and search “gaming.”)
3.Donna Blevins, Rebuilding Mississippi Gulf Coast, available at:
http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/viewarticle.php?id=1010&sort=author