January 12

Land bought for Nugget

Point Cadet lots sell for block price

By TOM WILEMON
tewilemon@sunherald.com

BILOXI – Some deeply rooted Biloxians, some who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina, easily made up for their financial losses Tuesday when they sold their vacant slabs on Point Cadet to a casino company.

Landry’s Restaurants began closing on 23 parcels of private land where the company wants to put a Golden Nugget Casino and Biloxi Boardwalk tourist attraction. The price was $11.25 million for 5.4 acres, which works out to about $48 a square foot.

A 50 x 100 foot lot would yield $240,000 at that price.

The company moved forward with its contract before reaching an agreement with the city of Biloxi to lease the waterfront land that it must control before it can build a casino. The Biloxi City Council rejected a prior offer from Landry’s to lease the land on Dec. 12.

“We’re looking forward to working with the city,” said Edward W. Engel, corporate counsel for Landry’s. The company owns the Golden Nugget properties in Nevada and the rights to the casino brand name.

Ownership of the property behind the city-owned Point Cadet Plaza and Seafood Museum puts Landry’s in a position of strength as negotiations move forward. The Isle of Capri Casinos, which is located south of U.S. 90 from Point Cadet Plaza, has a right of first refusal on the property, and has said it would also like to lease it for a future expansion.

The Golden Nugget would be a new player in the Biloxi casino market.

“That little track being developed by somebody who represents a quality company really means a lot to what’s going to happen down here on the Point,” said Keith Crosby, general manager of the Palace Casino, which is just north of the site.

He said rumors that Landry’s is buying the Palace Casino are not true.

Gillespie Title Co. conducted the closings in the Biloxi courthouse. In all, about 100 stakeholders in the 23 properties were involved. Armond and Kathy Broussard walked out of the room holding their daughter Ava Jolie after agreeing to sell a lot they had purchased as an investment.

“This will be a college fund for Ava Jolie and pay for a new car,” Kathy Broussard said. “Ours flooded away.”

George Sekul and other property owners organized Gulf Star Inc. with lawyer Gerald Blessey to market the small parcels of property collectively to casino developers. The effort began in 1994. Sawyer Real Estate marketed the property last year first to Ameristar Casinos and then to Landry’s.

“Gerald and I always thought it was a casino site being so close to the waterfront,” Sekul said. “It took us a long time to convince people.”