Posted on: December 20, 2024, 05:42h.
Last updated on: December 20, 2024, 05:42h.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission (MGC) has signed off on a site for a new from-the-ground-up casino resort in Biloxi.
If the project comes to realization, it would be the first casino to open along the Gulf Coast in Biloxi since Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in June 2007.
On Thursday, the MGC approved the site for the Tullis Garden Hotel and Casino. The 35-acre property is located at 360 Beach Blvd. just west of Harrah’s Gulf Coast.
The MGC ruled the site satisfies the agency’s gaming regulations and has a tidelands lease with the state as mandated by Mississippi’s casino law.
After Hurricane Katrina, state lawmakers amended riverboat laws to allow land-based gaming along the Gulf. The brick-and-mortar gaming facilities must be built within 800 feet of the 19-year mean high water line.
Since the state owns the tidelands, developers must enter into lease agreements to build over or near the shore.
Tullis Project
Tennessee businessman Israel Schwartz is behind the Tullis Gardens Hotel & Casino bid. He’s seeking to pay homage to the former Tullis-Toledano Manor, a Greek Revival mansion that was built in the 1850s but completely destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.
The historic home, which was used as a summer getaway for Garner Tullis of New Orleans, who was the president of the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, served as a museum and community center for the city for 30 years until it was destroyed in 2005.
The Tullis Gardens proposal includes an 11-story, 300-room hotel with more than 53K square feet of gaming. The casino would include over 900 slot machines, 35 live dealer table games, and a sportsbook. A full-scale replica of the former Tullis-Toledano Manor would complement the resort.
Gaining site approval from the MGC is the first of many steps in building a new casino in Biloxi. The developers of Tullis Gardens will now need to secure financing and provide proof of funding to the MGC. Schwartz and his key officials would then need to undergo suitability checks.
If all goes as planned for Schwartz, his firm would then begin the process of applying for construction permits and final design approval from the MGC.
Other Casino Bid Stalled
The MGC voted in favor of the Tullis Gardens site but delayed action on a nearby casino resort proposal. Just steps from where Tullis Gardens seeks to build is another casino project called the Tivoli Casino. Tivoli is “I love it” spelled almost correctly backwards.
The backers of that scheme have floated plans for a $1 billion development with 1,300 hotel rooms, a convention center, and a 100K-square-foot casino with 2,000 slots, 75 tables, and a sportsbook. Led by local developer Danny Conwill, the Tivoli site is just west of the Biloxi Yacht Club on 32 acres that he paid $40 million for after Katrina.
Gaming commissioners said the Tivoli site lacks a tidelands lease and remains in litigation. Conwill argues that he has a local contract with the Biloxi Council to build a pier across from where he hopes to build his casino that satisfies the 800-foot water requirement. Mississippi State Secretary Michael Watson is challenging that claim in court in an ongoing case.
