Gaming bills light early in 2000 Mississippi legislature session

Jack Elliott Jr.

Monday, Jan. 31, 2000 | 9:07 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - Not even a whimper of a gambling debate has surfaced thus far in the Mississippi Legislature.

The industry, fueled by record earnings, has been a steady source of money for the state, cities, counties and schools during the past eight years.

The business also has been virtually free of scandal in Mississippi, where regulators keep an eye on the industry but let the market determine who wins and loses.

There are 30 state regulated dockside casinos in Mississippi. Earnings were $2.5 billion in 1999, up from $2.2 billion in 1998.

Chuck Patton, executive director of the State Gaming Commission, said his agency has no recommendations to tinker with the laws regulating casinos.

"The gaming statute has worked pretty well and not caused us any problems. I think our staffing has put us in a position where we can do a good job of regulating," he said.

Patton said the commission when it meets with lawmakers later this week will have no major budget requests.

About a dozen bills addressing gaming issues had been filed for the 2000 session as of last Friday. The number could increase as the Feb. 21 deadline approaches, but not much, says a key lawmaker who would handle such legislation.

"The industry is going remarkably well," said Rep. Jim Simpson Jr., R-Gulfport. "I know of nothing that's broken that requires fixing right now. I don't have any gaming agenda."

Simpson is chairman of a subcommittee that would handle gaming bills.

Simpson said many legislators in the first year of a term have other things to work on.

"Everybody is trying to get their feet on the ground, learn who's in what position and people haven't tuned into a lot of legislation yet. I expect that to change after the governor's speech," Simpson said.

Patton said there will also be debate over the impact of casinos in the state, now the third biggest gaming market after Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

"But in terms of development of the state and its contribution to the improved economic climate, you certainly can't fault the industry. I think the growth is going to continue as long as the economy is good," Patton said.

In general, the bills already filed deal with minor details such as barring the cashing of welfare checks at casinos, a practice now followed at most casinos; and sharing revenues from gaming statewide or expanding casinos statewide, both of which have little support.

Sen. Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport, as he has in the past five years, has filed a bill to produce a detailed map of where casinos can locate. It has been an issue of particular concern on the coast, Hewes said, because some casino future plans appear to be closing in on residential areas.

Mississippi law limits casinos to counties with navigable waters along the Mississippi River and its tributaries or along the Gulf Coast even though the gaming houses are permanently moored and operate dockside.

By regulation in 1998, the Gaming Commission limited casinos to areas "west of the naturally occurring levee system or bluffs from Warren County to the border between Wilkinson County, Miss., and West Felciana Parish, La., except vessels may be located on the Yazoo River within Warren County and the Big Black River where it forms the border between Warren and Claiborne counties."

The regulation appears to bar a casino development on the Big Black River in eastern Warren County. However, that issue is before the Mississippi Supreme Court in a much-anticipated decision that could more narrowly define the limits on casinos.

Hewes admits his bill does not have widespread support. However, he said the legislation expresses the concerns of some on the Gulf Coast who believe casinos might start developments in "what are historically residential areas as opposed to commercial areas."

Hewes said a map of where casinos can locate would go a long way toward eliminating any questions about legal sites.

"I think it would make the Gaming Commission's job easier by saying we have defined areas of the state that fall within the confines of law. When they have people come to them they can say, 'here's where you can look and here's where we will consider these type of entities,"' he said.

"I think there would be a lot of benefits that could result from that ... including peace of mind," Hewes said.