Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Mississippi regulators certify Jimmy Buffett’s casino

Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Gaming License Approved

Leila Navidi

Jimmy Buffett goes before the Nevada Gaming Commission for approval of his Margaritaville gaming license inside the Grant Sawyer Building in downtown Las Vegas on Thursday, March 22, 2012.

Jimmy Buffett told gambling regulators Thursday that next week's opening of his new Margaritaville Casino and Resort will be exciting, but creating jobs along his native Mississippi Gulf Coast has been a rewarding experience in itself.

Buffet was in Jackson on Thursday when the Mississippi Gaming Commission announced the final certification for the casino, set to open Tuesday in Biloxi.

On March 22, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the entertainer's licensing request, enabling his company, Margaritaville Holdings LLC, to collect gaming revenue generated at the Margaritaville Casino and Restaurant at the Flamingo with Caesars Entertainment.

The meeting in Mississippi was a formality. Gaming Commission Chairman Jerry St. Pe told Buffett and a business partner, John Cohlan, the casino had already been found suitable for certification.

In interviews after the meeting, the singer-songwriter wouldn't say if he'll perform at the casino's grand opening, but he didn't rule it out, either.

"I'm a shameless musician and coming home seems like a party to me," he said.

Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Miss., and said he made his "first professional dollar in Biloxi back in the `60s" so he's excited to bring "a thousand new jobs to the Gulf Coast at a time they're needed."

"I'm heading down there tonight because I'm excited to see the place," he said after the meeting.

Buffett said he hopes casino visitors will get a chance to experience the natural beauty of the Gulf Coast, like the serene barrier islands offshore, where emerald waters lap the white sand beaches, and other attractions, like the Walter Anderson Museum. Anderson was artist who spent much of his life exploring and painting nature in south Mississippi.

Buffett's casino will open Tuesday at 5 p.m., of course, as in the song recorded by Buffet and Alan Jackson: "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere."

This casino is not associated with another project that became a victim of the economic downturn. Buffett and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. _ now known as Caesars Entertainment Corp. _ announced plans in 2007 to build a $700 million casino-hotel on the beach. That resort was scheduled to open in 2010 but now sits unfinished after construction stopped in 2008 because of the recession.

Buffet joined with other investors to build the current casino on Biloxi's Back Bay. Plans call for about 60,000 square feet of casino, restaurants and event center space.

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