Hurricane Dennis has Biloxi worried

The Mississippi Gaming Commission has called a 2 p.m. meeting with casino operators to discuss shutdown procedures should an order be issued.

Larry Gregory, the executive director of the Gaming Commission, said two staff members were attending an 11 a.m. emergency planning meeting with civil defense personnel on the Coast.

“We’re listening and maintaining communications with the civil defense people,” Gregory said. “We’re waiting for the next update at 11 a.m. We will regroup at that point to see where the storm may be heading.”

Forecasters have warned Gulf Coast residents from Florida to Louisiana to be ready for Dennis to come ashore by Sunday. With top winds at 150 mph, the storm is already ‘‘extremely dangerous,’’ the National Hurricane Center said. At 10 a.m. CDT, Dennis’ eye was about 130 miles west of Camaguey, Cuba, and about 250 miles south-southeast of Key West. It was wobbling slightly as it moved northwest at about 15 mph.

Models from the National Hurricane Center indicate the storm may make landfall around the Alabama and Florida border late Sunday or early Monday, but the storm’s path could change.

“If it moves in a westerly direction, we will speed up the procedures to let the casinos know what to do,” Gregory said. It takes about 12 hours for a casino to shut down. Gaming agents will brief casino executives on the procedures at the 2 p.m. meeting.

“Hopefully, we will know by this afternoon what we’re looking at,” Gregory said. “It’s a preliminary meeting at this point, going over the p’s and q’s and make sure we’re ready for something.”

Source: Sun Herald

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