Thursday, July 27, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.
E.L. Pennebaker Jr. had petitioned the Mississippi Gaming Commission in February 1998 to find that the two casinos did plot to stop the licensing of the Big Black site.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Hinds County Circuit Court, Pennebaker asked the court to require the commission to act.
"Either accept it or reject it, but take some action so we can appeal the decision if we need to," said Bill Spell of Clinton, Pennebaker's attorney.
Pennebaker and casino developer Jim Belisle received a $3.9 million verdict from a Pike County jury in October.
Pennebaker and Belisle accused Ameristar, Harrah's and Deposit Guaranty National Bank - now AmSouth Bank - of unlawfully preventing competition. They said this was done by influencing the Gaming Commission to deny the site for a proposed $150 million casino and auto race track in Warren County.
Pennebaker owned the rign 1997, Hinds County Circuit Judge L. Breland Hilburn ruled the commission was wrong. The commission then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard arguments in March.
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