Country Crossing plans facility for Mississippi Gulf Coast

BILOXI, Miss. — A high-ranking official with Country Crossing confirmed Thursday that the development is looking for property to open an entertainment/gambling venue on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“We’ve got several locations we are looking at. We have not signed any contract,” said Billy Graham, vice president of acquisitions for the Houston County-based electronic bingo and country music entertainment destination.

Graham said there are large tracts of property available in the Biloxi/Gulfport area — land that has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast in August 2005. Country Crossing officials are looking at three to four sites.

“We are talking about doing a massive entertainment destination point,” Graham said. “That is a gambler’s market where the average stay is two to three nights. With our entertainment, we want to increase that stay to four to six nights.”

The head of gaming in Mississippi confirmed he met with Country Crossing representatives about six weeks ago to discuss their interest in opening a casino operation in the state, but Larry Gregory said he meets with dozens of potential owner/operators every year.

“Some open up here and some we never hear from them again,” said Gregory, who is executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

But Graham said they are moving forward and the political climate is far friendlier across the state line in neighboring Mississippi, where Alabama residents are coming to gamble anyway.

The Houston County development has been closed since Jan. 29 to avoid a raid from Governor Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. That closure has also cut off the facility’s revenue source.

“We’ve got to do something to protect everybody’s interest,” Graham said. “We’ve been approached by many places to move. There are many deals on the table in other states. We could become a destination company.”

Gregory said the meeting with Country Crossing officials, which included developer Ronnie Gilley and several country music entertainers, was more of an introductory meet-and-greet.

“I like to know about the people coming into the state – who they are and the makeup of the company. I like to get some background,” Gregory said.

Doug Rainer, spokesman for Ronnie Gilley Properties, said this option does not negate aggressive efforts to reopen Country Crossing on U.S. 231 South.

“We have met with the folks in Mississippi and are working with them right now, on a business plan for the area, and we are pursing other business options,” Rainer said. “We are still trying to move forward with Country Crossing in Dothan. We are pursuing legal avenues to open up, but at the same time we are looking at new options. We hope to get some relief for Houston County.”

Gregory gave an abbreviated version of the licensing process in Mississippi, saying just getting started can take four or five years because of extensive background checks on all partners and investors with a five percent or more interest in the project.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission looks closely at the financial ties of all investors to ensure “it is clean money and a clean company,” Gregory said. The state operates with a free and open market concept, he said, and “we will meet with anyone. You can do business in this state. We encourage it.”

Graham said Country Crossing developers did look at possibly partnering with existing casinos in the Gulf Coast area, but it would not have shortened the process.

“There’s no way around the comprehensive due diligence they do,” Graham said. “We’d like to expedite this as quickly as possible. If we come up with a site, it would expedite it.“

The biggest challenge for a new project is capital in today’s market, according to gaming experts and analysts attending the Southern Gaming Summit this week in Biloxi.

“Some of these projects are in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” Gregory said.

There are currently 29 casinos operating in Mississippi and 11 on the Gulf Coast.

Convicted felons may not have an interest in, or be employed at, a casino in Mississippi.