Mississippi’s House of Representatives leader said Tuesday he does not intend to move forward with a bill that would allow casinos in the state capital, Jackson. The proposal would be a major change from a decades-old state law that limited casinos to rural areas. Gulf Coast and Mississippi River.
But House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar made an announcement that would likely kill this year’s bill to invest in a casino just over a mile from the state Capitol. He gave encouragement to those who
“Don’t give up,” Lamar said.
Effort to revive Mississippi voting effort blocked in state Senate
Lamar introduced the bill on Monday, but House Republicans met behind closed doors and decided not to bring it to a vote on Tuesday after deciding there were not enough votes to pass the bill.
Republicans hold a majority in the 122-member House. Some Democratic lawmakers said they oppose building new casino sites.
Members of the Mississippi House Ways and Means Committee consider a bill in committee at the Mississippi State Capitol on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
The Democratic leader in the House, Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, said Jackson’s gambling halls would have a negative impact on casinos along the Mississippi River, including in his hometown.
“The coast may survive,” Johnson said. “But there’s no way for anyone else to survive it.”
The first casino opened in Mississippi in 1992. He operates 12 state-licensed casinos on the Gulf Coast and 14 along the Mississippi River, according to the state Gaming Commission’s website. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians also operates three casinos that are not regulated by the state: two near Philadelphia and one near Laurel.
Lamar’s bill specified that Jackson’s casino would be owned by at least one person who already owns a licensed casino. The closest casino to downtown Jackson is located along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, about 78 miles west.
Two Vicksburg legislators, Democratic Rep. Oscar Denton and Republican Rep. Kevin Ford, said opening a casino in Jackson would have a negative impact on the city of Vicksburg. He employs more than 1,100 people at hotels connected to his four casinos and hotels in Vicksburg.
“It would have been devastating for us,” Denton said.
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Mississippi originally stipulated that casinos could only be developed on water. After Hurricane Katrina blew part of a giant casino liner onto land along the coast in 2005, lawmakers changed the law to allow casino development on short stretches of the coast.
