Mississippi Coast Entertainment LP, headed by Virginia attorney Robert Lubin and Kevin Preston, asked the Gulfport Redevelopment Commission for a two-month delay in receiving final Gaming Commission approval and starting construction on their unnamed 0 million-0 million casino project at Gulfport Harbor. The delay means the developers would ask the gaming commission for permission to build early next year and start construction in the spring.
Lubin said his company, which also developed the Magnolia Bluffs Casino-Hotel in Natchez, needs the additional time because the particular federal EB-5 program he uses to finance development will expire at the end of this month. He said Chinese investors in the program are waiting to see if officials will renew the program, in which an investor pays $500,000 for a partnership in a project that’s expected to create 10 jobs; in exchange, the investor gets a green card for permanent U.S. residency.
Lubin said he’s confident the program will be renewed. So far he has lined up 18 investors in the casino project; 70 to 80 are needed to complete financing. If the program is not renewed, he said the casino project’s future is uncertain.
Lubin also met with Marine Life and Misco Marine, harbor property owners who are included in the 60-year casino lease. The casino partnership has been paying $80,000 per month on its lease since June. Once the casino is operations, those payments will increase to include a share of revenue.
The new casino and 300-room hotel would join Island View Casino Resort on U.S. 90. Lubin said he believes Gulfport can support two casinos, and the harbor property is the only potential site left in Gulfport where a profitable casino could be built. “To me, the only place to be is on the water,” he said.
