Magnolia Bluffs Casino (from Visit Natchez website)
NATCHEZ, Miss. — The Board of Aldermen today approved the lease with a New York-based casino company for the city-owned land currently occupied by the Magnolia Bluffs gambling hall Saratoga is purchasing.
Mayor Dan Gibson said it’s “an exciting time for Natchez” to have the new casino operator here “willing to invest significantly in the city.”
The board closed the public out of discussions about the terms of the lease with Saratoga Casino Holdings. However, Gibson said after the meeting that Saratoga will pay the city about $1 million a year plus more allocations for occupying the land.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission has been reviewing Saratoga to decide whether to give the license required to operate the 10-year-old Magnolia Bluffs Casino and Hotel. The review could be completed by September, according to Saratoga representatives meeting with the mayor and aldermen in June.
Saratoga and Magnolia Bluffs’ current owners announced in April their deal for the Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based company to acquire the casino, which leases the land it sits on by the Mississippi River at the end of Roth Hill Road.
The casino company that’s been operating Magnolia Bluffs since 2012 has been paying the city at least $1 million a year with additional funds tied to the amount of casino revenues. That money has been essential for basic municipal operations and for special projects, such as repaving city streets.
The new land agreement has Saratoga also putting $250,000 a year into a city community development fund that was part of the original casino lease.
Magnolia Bluffs Casino opened in 2012 and in 2015 purchased its 140-room hotel nearby on Canal Street. The casino employs about 170 people plus about 30 at the hotel, according to the latest data from the Mississippi Gaming Commission, which keeps up with Mississippi casinos’ financial and personnel records.
While Magnolia Bluffs has reduced its number of casino-hotel employees in recent years – it had nearly 280 workers in 2017 – Saratoga executives meeting last month with the mayor and aldermen expressed optimism about Magnolia Bluffs’ capacity to grow. Sarasota Casino Holdings – which is a family-owned corporation – has casinos and racehorse tracks in New York, Kentucky, Maryland and Colorado.
A company led by Kevin Preston has operated the city’s lone casino the past 10 years and has been a prominent supporter of the Natchez community, which Sarasota executives said they plan to continue.
The mayor and Board of Aldermen closed the public today out its discussions about Saratoga’s assumption of the property lease because it dealt with “confidential matters,” Gibson said. State law allows public boards to meet in private to discuss the leasing of land.
Yes, the Mayor always decides what you need to know and will shout you down if you ask. It’s his way or no way and I don’t think that’s right.