Gaming leaders mull Miss. moves

07 September 2005

As reported by: CNN
In another sign of the gaming industry's anxiety about its future in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, CEOs of the top casino companies are expected to discuss the matter next week during the industry's annual G2E trade show in Las Vegas.

At least one state official -- Larry Gregory, head of Mississippi Gaming Commission -- fears that the casinos may not return to the state unless the current gaming laws are changed to allow companies to operate land-based casinos instead of the "floating casinos" decimated by Katrina.

If companies don't rebuild their businesses, Gregory fears the state could risk losing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in gaming revenue and taxes.

The American Gaming Association's (AGA) board of directors, which includes MGM Mirage (Research) CEO Terry Lannian, Harrah's Entertainment (Research) CEO Gary Loveman, Pinnacle Entertainment chief Daniel Lee and Wynn Resorts CEO Stephen Wynn, will meet Monday, according to AGA's president and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf.

The AGA is a trade group representing the commercial casino entertainment industry.

"Obviously the primary focus will be on what happens to all the people employed by the casino industry, hotels and other support services in the area and how to take care of them," Fahrenkopf told CNN/Money Tuesday.

Another focal area of debate, he expects, will center around the Mississippi's gaming regulations and whether or not companies are willing to return and rebuild their business unless the law is amended to allow inland casinos.

Mississippi governor Haley Barbour -- who, like Fahrenkopf, is a former national Republican Party chairman -- addressed the issue Sunday in an interview with on NBC's "Meet the Press."


Article By: CNN

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