Could a casino be coming to Mississippi’s capital city? Officials appear to once again be contemplating the plausibility of a gaming center being constructed in Jackson.
Back in March, legislation was introduced in the state’s House of Representatives centered around a casino opening its doors in Jackson in the near future. House Bill 1989, authored by House Ways and Means Chair Trey Lamar, served to have the Department of Finance and Administration establish a program to provide loans to assist in the development of a licensed gaming establishment in the capital’s downtown area. Though the legislation failed to make it to the floor for a vote, the idea of a casino coming to the area did not die.
In mid-December, a coalition of lawmakers tasked with refining Jackson heard from Capital City Forward Together — a group of business leaders, including former Gov. Haley Barbour, looking to give the capital a facelift. The group floated the idea of Jackson being the home of a gaming facility, contending that a casino would be the right source of entertainment to spur economic development and tourism in a city that has experienced a perpetual population decline. In 1990, Jackson had just under 200,000 residents. Today, that figure is just over 143,000, marking Jackson as the quickest-shrinking capital city in the U.S.
Despite the influx of Jacksonians seeking a new home, traffic through the capital city along Interstate 55 remains the busiest portion of a highway in Mississippi. That, paired with a growing population in Jackson suburbs such as Madison and Brandon, led the businessmen to deem a gaming center a perfect fit for an area in need of a boost.
The Capital City Forward Together committee recommended the construction of a casino within one mile of the state capitol to boost tourism and economic development in Jackson. (Getty Images)
As things stand, around 600,000 people live in the Jackson metro area. The nearest casinos to those in the region exist in Vicksburg, roughly 45 miles away, and Philadelphia, around 60 miles away. A gaming establishment in Jackson could
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