Mississippi: Business, state leaders propose casino project to revitalize Jackson

A group of lawmakers looking at ways to improve Jackson heard from a group that claims a casino could be the key. The Capital Revitalization Committee received the suggestion from Capital City Forward Together, a group that includes former Governor Haley Barbour, which says the move would bring tourism and create more jobs.

Group members William Richardson, Richard McNeel, and Conrad Eber made it clear to lawmakers that they are not associated with any casino companies and are not acting as lobbyists, Clarion Ledger reported. They describe themselves as businessmen who believe a casino would help create an economic boost for Jackson. 

Richardson argued that Jackson needs some sort of attraction that would bring people to the city. He pointed to Jackson's population loss over the last fifty years. According to the US Census Bureau's 2022 census, Jackson is the nation's fastest-shrinking city with at least 50,000 residents.

However, while Jackson's population might be shrinking, the city still has plenty of daily traffic, which was one of Richardson's main arguments for building a casino in Jackson. Doing its research, the group found that I-55 between the Highway Patrol Curve and Fortification (Street) has 115,000 cars on average a day.

That is the busiest section of interstate in the state of Mississippi, which includes going into Memphis and I-10 on the coast. "We've got traffic, so how do we stop this traffic and get them to come into the city and spend their money," Richardson said.

Additionally, Richardson said there are about 7.8 million people who are over 21 within a 300-mile radius of Jackson, which he projects could lead to "four million visits per year at a casino."

The best place to put the proposed casino, according to Richardson, is within a mile of the State Capitol, somewhere in Downtown Jackson. This would help grow the city's downtown, which has struggled to attract businesses in recent years.

To build a Jackson casino, the group asked lawmakers to amend the state's law to allow for one casino to be built in Jackson. Currently, Mississippi law states casinos can only be built in areas along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River.

They also proposed the Jackson casino should be overseen by the Mississippi Gaming Commission and should be licensed to an operator already doing business in the state.

Richardson, who helped develop a casino with the Choctaw tribe in Mississippi, also proposed that whoever develops the Jackson casino be required to pay $10 million annually into an 'Impact Fund.'

Richardson said he created this kind of fund when building the casino with the Choctaws, which then helped pay for additional investments, something Jackson could also benefit from.

Talks of a proposed Jackson casino follow last year's House Bill 1989, which would've established state aid for a $500 million casino project in the city. That bill ultimately died during last year's Legislature session.