Margaritaville casino theme contemplated

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000 | 10:30 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BILOXI, Miss. -- The new owners of Casino Magic are not letting chances of a Jimmy Buffett-themed casino expansion waste away.

Paul Alanis, president of Pinnacle Entertainment, which bought Casino Magic earlier this year, said "significant discussions" with the popular singer-songwriter are ongoing.

"I have a really high level of confidence" that the talks will result in a signed agreement to develop a hotel expansion at Casino Magic Biloxi using the Margaritaville Caribbean theme, Alanis said.

"Margaritaville" is Buffett's signature song. Written for the 1977 album "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," the single tells about living a beach lifestyle.

Plans for a Margaritaville hotel, casino and amphitheater on land between Casino Magic and Grand Casino Biloxi collapsed earlier this year when Park Place Entertainment Corp., parent company for Grand Casinos, lost interest in the project.

"The original concept is dead," Alanis said. "But the concept of bringing Margaritaville to the coast is not."

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