The Mississippi Supreme Court recently ruled a proposed casino site on the Mississippi Gulf Coast does not meet state standards for where casinos are allowed to locate. The ruling was a blow to Ray Wooldridge, a former owner of the New Orleans Hornets National Basketball Association team, whose RW Development LLC has been trying since 2008 to get approval for a casino site that’s slightly inland in Biloxi.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission rejected the site in 2008, 2017 and 2019. A Harrison County Circuit Court judge affirmed the commission’s decision in 2019. RW Development appealed to the state Supreme Court where justices affirmed the circuit court ruling.
Wooldridge built Big Play Entertainment Center at the site while awaiting permission to proceed with his casino plans. The complex offers bowling, miniature golf, laser tag and other family entertainment.
Mississippi law specifies that state-regulated casinos only can locate along the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast. The original law required casinos to be over water but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, legislators modified the law to allow coastal casinos to be built a short distance inland.
