JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Gaming Commission gave site approval Thursday to the proposed Biloxi Boardwalk Casino & Resort.
It’s the first in a series of approvals required for the casino proposed by Louisiana businessman Chris Ferrara. Biloxi Boardwalk would be the 10th casino in Biloxi and 13th on Mississippi’s coast. It used to be a Heinz pet food factory and Ferrara bought the 37 acres and 185,000 square-foot building in 2000 after the factory closed.
Ferrara, who also owns fire truck maker Ferrara Fire Apparatus in Holden, La., said he wants to renovate the building to hold a 50,000 square-foot casino and a 100,000 square-foot convention center.
“A lot of people take the building for granted,” said Ferrara, who noted that it survived 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. “We think it’s a fortress.”
Ferrara has built a marina at the site and plans to open a restaurant in September. He also said the complex would include an outdoor amphitheater and a RV park. However, he wouldn’t say whether he plans a hotel.
“I don’t want to discuss all the aspects,” Ferrara said.
Ferrara said that if his plans come to pass, he anticipates an investment of more than $100 million. He said he’s in talks for financing, and could be ready to return to the commission in 60 to 90 days.
The site is near the recently opened Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant. The commission approved that Jimmy Buffett-backed casino, but has twice rejected plans for Harbor Town casino in Gulfport. Investors had promised to sink $83 million into the project the second time it was rejected.
Commissioners have said they approved Margaritaville because it would draw Buffett fans from outside the state, expanding Mississippi’s gambling market. Some experts have been dubious of that contention because the initial phase of the casino doesn’t include a hotel.
Gaming Commission Chairman Jerry St. Pe said that for Biloxi Boardwalk, his panel would be looking at the number of jobs, amount of taxes and types of amenities it would bring.
“It’s going to be looking at the size of the investment,” St. Pe said. “It’s going to be looking at the content of the investment.”
St. Pe reiterated that the commission wants to approve casinos that enlarge the total casino market, not just take business from current operators.
Ferrara, for his part, said he believed that Biloxi would remain attractive to gamblers from the east.
“Looking at the Alabama market and looking at the Florida market, we think they’re not moving forward,” he said.
