.Wed, Apr. 03, 2002
Indian casino in Hancock?
Landholders, Louisiana tribe not telling if they will come together
By JOEY BUNCH
SUN HERALD CAPITOL BUREAU
JACKSON - If the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians is considering a casino in Hancock County, the tribe and landholders near Interstate 10 aren't saying so.
The 230-member tribe is looking for a place to build a casino, and Europa owns 404 acres near Diamondhead that it wants to develop into a casino resort.
Talk of a deal between the tribe from central Louisiana and Europa Cruises Corp. has spread from Hancock County to the Capitol over the past two weeks.
Rep. Dirk Dedeaux, D-Perkinston, said he had heard the rumor, "but nothing official."
Both sides said they don't comment on any possible ventures, but either way, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove won't support a new Indian casino in the state.
"The law was not set up to forum shop for reservation property, when there is no real connection to the Jena Band anywhere" in Mississippi, said Musgrove. "I would oppose their application."
Europa's president, Deborah Vitale, said the company never comments on who it may or may not be in negotiations with.
"We're always in discussions with anyone interested in financing the project," said Vitale.
Cheryl Smith, the chief of the Jena Band, did not return telephone calls about the project on Monday and Tuesday.
Europa hopes to build a $400 million casino just south of I-10, becoming the only South Mississippi casino with such direct access to the interstate corridor.
The tribe withdrew its application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs last month to buy land and locate a casino in Tishomingo County in Northeast Mississippi. The tribe failed to get support from the governor, local officials and county residents, even though it offered to give the county $4 million a year.
Last summer, Greene County supervisors rejected the same offer and voted against working with the tribe to put a casino near Leakesville, near the Alabama state line.
The tribe also has tried without success, so far, to locate a casino in Louisiana, even offering a 15.5 percent "tax/donation" to the state for teacher pay.
Federal law gives non-resident tribes the option to open a casino in states that allow some form of gambling, but the agency weighs heavily
the opinions of the governor and local officials before approving applications.
If the application had been approved, the Louisiana tribe would have to negotiate a compact with the governor before it could operate a casino.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians already operates a casino on its reservation near Philadelphia, east of Meridian. Gov. Kirk Fordice approved a compact for the Mississippi tribe in 1992.
The tribe plans to open a second casino nearby later this year.
Joey Bunch can be reached at the Capitol Bureau at jbunch@sunherald.com |
