East end of city could become a gambling mecca
By TOM WILEMON tewilemon@sunherald.com
BILOXI – A casino loop that someday might rival the Atlantic City Boardwalk is already taking shape on the east end of the Biloxi Peninsula.
Biloxi is ahead of the game because it has the roads, the utilities, the market history and a city leadership that was quick to embrace the casino industry as a partner in rebuilding. But delays in the construction of a new U.S. 90 bridge across the Biloxi Bay and the price of real estate could slow the pace of development.
Other areas along the Coast – Gulfport, D’Iberville and Hancock County – also have potential casino sites.
Gulfport has been slow to engage the casino industry, but the city is taking steps by considering entertainment zones for casinos around its harbor, including one location north of U.S. 90.
D’Iberville, which has been seeking a casino for the past decade, is actively marketing its waterfront.
Land in Hancock County, 404 acres close to Interstate 10, is available for new ventures.
But Biloxi continues to be the hot spot.
Ray Stronsky with Grubb & Ellis Sawyer Commercial has several real estate listings that could be potential casino sites.
One listing attracting a lot of interest is an approximately 7-acre site between Boomtown and the IP owned by the Suarez, Fayard and Andrews families. The company has scheduled a showing of the site to casino operators this month.
“We have some developers looking at this site and wanting to do the boardwalk concept with the other casinos,” Stronsky said. “People could walk between them and also be within walking distance of Bacaran Bay.”
For the past 13 years, Grubb & Ellis Sawyer Real Estate has either represented the landowner or the casino operator in about 75 percent of the real estate deals that have closed on the Coast, said owner broker Lenny Sawyer. The company currently has casino listings valued at about half a billion dollars.
Who owns what?
Other prime locations available along Biloxi’s casino loop are three sites owned by Christopher Ferrara of Baton Rouge – a 40-acre site on Back Bay, 10 adjacent acres and a 27-acre site on Clay Point around the old Heinz plant. Other locations include 40-acre sites owned either by W.C. “Cotton” Fore and Ray Sims or a partnership between the two men as well as land at the northern corner of Clay Point owned by the Victor Mavar family. Read the rest of this entry »
BILOXI, Miss. – Broadwater Development LLP will present plans for two casinos and a resort project on 261 acres to the Biloxi Planning Commission next week.
The total projected cost is more than $1 billion, officials said.
The plan calls for two casinos: one at the site of the Broadwater Hotel and another south of U.S. 90. Further development includes keeping the golf course and adding retail and entertainment venues, restaurants, housing and a marina.
“We’re looking for this to be a world class destination resort,” said Mark Calvert of Cascade Capital Group, the development’s project manager. “We have not made a decision yet as to which casino operator will be the best anchor for the overall project.”
Zoning would allow up to 10,000 housing units on the property, Calvert said, but Broadwater Development has opted to build a mixture of hotel rooms and condominiums.
The company plans to keep a marina at the site and allow yacht clubs, boat sales and other water-oriented uses.
The company bought 248 acres last year in a bankruptcy auction. Broadwater Development leases 21 more acres.
“It’s going to take a while to do everything,” Calvert said. “It’s not going to be instantaneous. It’s going to take five to seven years.”
Source: APÂ
BILOXI — Boomtown Casino in Biloxi and Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis should reopen late this year, says Peter M. Carlino, the CEO of Penn National Gaming.
“We are working aggressively on planning the rebirth of both Casino Magic Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi,” Carlino said today.
Hurricane Katrina damaged or destroyed nearly all the Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos on Aug. 29. Three casinos have since reopened.
Carlino said his company was in contact with insurance adjusters to determine the full amount of insurance proceeds due to Penn National, “and we believe the insurance proceeds will be sufficient to fund returning the properties to operation.”
The company will first operate out of a 30,000 square foot temporary casino inside its Bay St. Louis hotel, which Carlino said will be replaced by a permanent land-based casino in the future.
“We will also rebuild the damaged areas of the existing hotel tower that in aggregate includes 290 hotel rooms.”
Penn National moved its hurricane-damaged Boomtown gambling barge to a dry dock in Pascagoula this week for repairs.
“We are anxious to move forward with these redevelopment projects and inviting our displaced workers to return to work at these properties upon completion,” Carlino said.
Carlino’s comments came with the company’s earnings report.
Penn National more than doubled its earnings per share during its fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, from 20 cents a share in 2004 to 44 cents a share in 2005. This represented the first full quarter since the company acquired Argosy Casino properties in a corporate merger.
Source: APÂ
