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Armed guards considered after rash of casino robberies

Monday, Sept. 29, 2003 | 9:18 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Twenty-one robberies at Mississippi casinos this year have regulators talking again of repealing a ban on the use of armed security guards.

"No matter how good law enforcement is locally, we owe it to the guests who come to Mississippi to provide as safe an environment as we can," said Mississippi Gaming Commission Chairman Len Blackwell of Gulfport.

Blackwell said he will urge Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to name a task force to recommend steps that could be taken at the casinos.

On Friday, three masked men walked into Fitzgeralds Casino at Tunica, with two of the men pulling handguns on an unarmed security guard and demanding to be taken to a specific teller's cage, said Jeff Piselli, Tunica County public information officer. The men got away with an undetermined amount of money without firing any shots, Piselli said.

Officials say the Mississippi Highway Patrol has established a strong presence in Tunica County, near Memphis, Tenn., where most of the casino robberies have occurred.

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