Senate Bill 2780 has been proposed to amend the state constitution that would require coastal casino projects to be mandated to secure a tidelands lease from the Secretary of State due to a chaotic and confusing ruling for a casino in Biloxi. Is this another step in the right direction for gaming in the US?
Coastal Casinos
Senator David Blount, chairman of the Senate Gaming Committee, as well as coastal senators Mike Thompson and Philman Ladner, along with Gaming Committee members, Bryce Wiggins and Jeremy England, are all advocating for SB 2780. The bill would require any entity seeking to use Public Trust Tidelands as part of a casino project to secure a Tidelands lease from the Secretary of State and not through any city, county, or municipality.
“I am working with the Secretary of State’s office and every Coast casino operator on the bill. Now more than ever, we need to restore a consistent regulatory environment to preserve the sand beach and encourage further investment and improvements in the Coast casino market,” Blount remarked.
Highlights of The Bill
- Any coastal casino must have at least 300 hotel rooms, a fine dining restaurant, a 40,000 square foot casino floor, and an attraction that grows the local casino and tourist market.
- Define state jurisdiction over Public Trust Tidelands and the authority of the secretary of state to approve leases on the tidelands.
- Declare the legislators’ intent for tidelands and casino sites following Hurricane Katrina.
- Clarify the need for a tidelands’ lease even if the use is rent-exempt.
- Require anyone seeking a casino license to obtain a tidelands lease through the Secretary of State and be subject to annual rent
- Require state agencies and political subdivisions with littoral or riparian rights also require a tidelands lease.
Biloxi Blues
The bill is in response to site approval granted by the Mississippi Gaming Commission back in December to Ray Wooldridge’s RW Development to build a casino on U.S. 90 and Veterans Avenue in Biloxi. This was the fourth time in 15 years that RW Development tried to secure approval after being denied in three previous attempts because the company’s property did not extend to the water’s edge.
But RW Development had a few things going for them that they didn’t have before. The first was having a lease with the city of Biloxi for the waterfront and a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a lower court ruling that a state Tidelands lease was not required from the state to build the pier.
The company would oversee building the pier which is slated to be 20 feet above the water and 300 feet in length. However, there can be no gaming on the pier itself.
According to the lease agreement, “No gaming shall be allowed on the municipal pier, nor on any vessels docked or berthed at the pier, nor on any other area of the leased premises.”
The foundation for the proposed bill had been foreshadowed when the Secretary of State, Michael Watson, issued a terse letter to RW Development in January shortly after they had been approved in December, writing, “I hope I am wrong, but this latest episode of the RW Development saga reeks more of politics than a legal development.”
“I again implore the Mississippi Legislature to reaffirm the state’s ownership, management, and control of and over the state-owned Public Trust Tidelands, including the public sand beach in Harrison County,” Watson added.
