Choctaws to proceed with casino effort

JACKSON COUNTY, Mississippi -- As reported by the Biloxi Sun Herald: "What part of no don't they understand?" Eleanor "Cissy" Jordan said when she learned the Mississippi Band of Choctaws intend to proceed with the effort to build a casino in Jackson County.

"A few hours earlier she and the Jackson Countians Against Choctaw Gaming were celebrating when 60 percent of the voters in Tuesday's election rejected a Choctaw casino north of Ocean Springs.

"In a long statement released Wednesday afternoon, Choctaw Chief Beasley Denson said, 'I am disappointed that a majority of the voters missed this opportunity to embrace a real partnership with our tribe.' Although the voters rejected the project, 'We built a coalition of business leaders and individuals in support of the Tribal resort casino,' Denson said, and the Tribe will continue the permitting process.

"...An environmental impact study now under way will take another two years before both the Department of the Interior and the governor of Mississippi would have to approve the casino before it could be built..."