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The Mississippi Lawyer Spring 2015 13 Legalized Gaming in Mississippi A Young Industry with an Eventful History were not the only ones trying to control what they had on their hands. Likewise gaming attorneys that were new to the concept of regulated gaming were having to guide their clients through the rigorous process of applying for gaming licenses getting gaming equipment approved and licensing individuals that were associated with these gaming companies. Many of the members of the gaming section of the Mississippi Bar were guiding the mergers acquisitions and reorganizations as casi- nos entered the marketplace and changed hands. This was also a time that saw some legal maneuvering to clarify just where the casinos could be located. The relevant statutes and regulations mandated that gambling was only legal on a vessel or cruise vessel as defined in Mississippi Code Ann. 27-109-1. For the river coun- ties the vessel had to be on the Mississippi River or its navigable waters within any county bordering on the Mississippi River. Thus the question for many applicants became where can I put my vessel and still be on the Mississippi River The river of course rises and falls and what appears to be the shoreline one week may no longer be the shoreline the next week. It was eventually determined that a vessel could be placed anywhere within the bank-full stage of the river where there was a suitable navigable waterway. The bank-full stage is an estab- lished stage at a given location along a river that represents the maximum safe water level that will not overflow the river banks. Thus in Tunica especially opera- tors were able to use waterways that extended off of the main river channel but that were still within the bank-full stage of the river itself. This was an important step for the industry because it allowed larger vessels to be moored in these waterways without the worry of the constant rising and falling of the main river channel itself. Such a determination is what allowed the larger resorts to be built in Tunica with hotels and other amenities next to the ves- sels themselves. Also in the mid-1990s a legal issue was boiling in Warren County over whether another navigable waterway was an appropriate site for a casino. Developers wanted to build a large casino in eastern Warren County along the Big Black River not far from Interstate 20 and in much closer proximity to Jackson than the Vicksburg casinos were. The develop- ers argued that the Big Black was a navi- gable waterway of the Mississippi River. Because it was still in Warren County it was in a location where gaming was legal even though it was not immediately adja- cent to the Mississippi River. As you can imagine opposition arose over the legality of the location much of it from casinos that were already operating in Vicksburg. Ultimately the Mississippi Gaming Commission decided that while the site technically fit the definition of a legal site it was not a suitable site for gaming citing several concerns over what a major devel- opment could do to that portion of the river environmentally and otherwise. While appeals followed the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the commissions decision. See generally Mississippi Gaming Commn v. Pennebaker 824 So.2d 552 Miss. 2002 finding that the Mississippi Gaming Commissions deter- mination that the planned casino site was not suitable for gaming was supported by substantial evidence. Enhancing the Product and Beating the Odds By the late 1990s the market began to stabilize and the casinos matured into more than just a short-term idea. Larger structures were built and amenities added. Numerous individuals worked to make sure the developing product could flourish and grow. During this time Captain Robert C. Engram Commissioner helped developed a regulation requiring operators to bring more than floating vessels to their gaming sites. Having the foresight to rec- ognize that any number of factors could suddenly make an operator up and move their operation Commissioner Engram and his fellow commissioners instituted infrastructure regulations in 1999 that required any new casino development to spend an equal amount of money on addi- tional infrastructure as they did on the gaming areas themselves. This regulation helped give rise to more hotel rooms golf courses marinas and other amenities that many of the properties have today. Larger amenity driven properties were built like the Beau Rivage that opened in 1999 and the Hard Rock in Biloxi that was finished in 2005. More work was done during the 2005 legislative session when lawmakers addressed concerns that gaming vessels might need extra protection from hurri- canes on the gulf coast or floods on the river. The legislature passed a law that allowed casinos to elevate their barges on pilings or take other engineering measures to protect against storm surges or floods. These protective measures were imple- mented so that the barges could withstand weather events but the law did not allow the casinos to be moved to new locations. Continued on next page More work was done during the 2005 legislative session when lawmakers addressed concerns that gaming vessels might need extra protection from hurricanes on the gulf coast or floods on the river.