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Casinos victorious in influence case

Friday, Nov. 2, 2001 | 10:23 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSON, Miss. -- The Mississippi Supreme Court has thrown out a $3 million jury award to developers of a Warren County casino who claimed two casinos wrongly exerted influence over regulators to reject their project.

The justices issued the ruling in a 6-3 decision Wednesday.

Ameristar and Harrah's casinos in Vicksburg had argued before the Supreme Court in August that they didn't exert undo influence over the Mississippi Gaming Commission's consideration of a proposed gambling house along the Big Black River.

The casinos claimed they did nothing more than exercise their First Amendment right to petition the government over a grievance.

In October 1999, a Pike County jury awarded more than $3 million to landowner E.L. Pennebaker of Warren County and Jim Belisle of Multi-Gaming Management.

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