Choctaws: Sign was false

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002 | 11:07 a.m.

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians says it had nothing to do with a false sign that was placed along a road over the weekend advertising a new casino site.

"Somebody wanted to have a little fun at our expense," Creda Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Choctaws, said. "We will be reporting that sign to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and the attorney general's office."

The small sign was placed at an empty lot, just north of First American Printing & Direct Mail, a Choctaw-owned business. It promoted the property as "Future Site of Flaming Sun Casino."

Despite the repeated statements of tribal leaders that no gambling hall is in the works, rumors have continued that the Choctaws plan to open a casino in Jackson County.

The Choctaws have said they want to concentrate on developing the $750 million Pearl River Resort in Neshoba County. The first phase, the Golden Moon Casino, opened in August.