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New casino still on go despite setbacks
Published Wednesday, July 29, 2009
NATCHEZ — The economy and credit crisis are to blame for delays in construction of a casino under Roth Hill, a Natchez Enterprises spokesman said Tuesday night.
Ted Doody met with the Natchez Board of Aldermen in executive session for approximately 45 minutes.
After the meeting, Doody said the company still hopes to move forward with its plans.
“We suffered a setback just like everybody else when the economy took a downturn and the financial sector collapsed,” he said. “The capital we had raised withdrew.”
He said for six months, Natchez Enterprises officials have been working to re-establish those funds and find new sources of capital.
“It’s been a pretty bleak credit market for the better part of last year,” Doody said.
But now things are looking brighter.
“We’ve got several new sources of capital lined up,” he said. “We look to have 100 percent of the capital required to complete the project committed in the near future.”
He said lamentably, it is too soon to say when a possible groundbreaking would be.
Reports of repeated groundbreakings were given last year with none ever coming to fruition. Tuesday night’s update was the first at an aldermen meeting in 2009.
Mayor Jake Middleton said the board of aldermen has been antsy in its desire to get the project off the ground.
Doody said the board fired questions at him over the project, but overall were accepting of the reasons it slowed down.
“I think they understand it’s a tough time,” he said.
Doody said several months ago, Natchez Enterprises exercised the option it has on the lease of the Roth Hill land, meaning they would be actively leasing the land instead of just asking the city to hold on to it.
When Natchez Enterprises entered the lease contract with the city, it agreed to pay the city $100,000 for the lease.
That money is currently being held in escrow by the city, and cannot be used until the project is in full motion or if Natchez Enterprises pulls out of the deal.
The casino, once operational, is required by the contract to pay the city $1 million each year.
In it’s first year, the $100,000 can be paid toward that $1 million.
Comments
Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 12:19 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by WhiteOleander (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 1:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm a realist, but I'm gonna keep a glimmer of hope on this one. It may sound crazy to some, but a little bit of hope beats a lot of sour any day.
If it doesn't happen -- it doesn't happen. If it does -- it will be great for us all.
Posted by ProNatchez (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 5:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I still can't believe that they will build anything down there. It has been underwater for two years in a row. Why build on a spot that floods? That doesn't make any sense. People do strange things when they see dollar signs.
Posted by NtzLady (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As much as I would like to see something come into Natchez that would bring jobs and money, I have to agree that there is no point in bringing in a new casino when jobs are already being cut at the other one.
Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
By the time the casino opens the BoA will have spent $5M counting on anticipated tax monies. The casino won't open and we will owe a few more million.
Posted by RAVENNEVERMORE (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 10:50 a.m.
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Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 11:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow - was that really a flying pig that just went by - Cool
Posted by Synclaire75 (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Natchez cannot support two casinos - its stupid, stupid, stupid
Posted by saintsfan (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well Raven dummy if you are going to quote happenings at a place of business you should probably have at least a little of your story correct. The Isle has not cut one single job due to the economy that is fact not fiction.
Posted by youth (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Natchez needs 2 casinos so the people who work on the other casino can play on the other one. Natchez also needs to expand adams port into a big dock so that u can have crane operating jobs and riggers and forman dat will create new jobs. Canal street a three lane. Reinteh will create more jobs. Prison has already created jobs. Morgantown road needs sidewalks and a business district. Cut down them damn trees and open up stores and apartments. John manvelle u can open up a small refinery there and the old tire plant can be a small distribution company. What did natchez do with its stimulus money? why isnt anybody trying to create new jobs. Why there trying to bring the city down why vidalia continues to grow, we need to wake up and vote for people who are out to at least try to make something happen instead of just sitting around. West may be out of office but the projects that are done and are being done now was his idea not middleton. Middleton needs to get on the ball trying to take credit for the roads hotels and rentech the new casino and prison that west brought. we may have the wrong mayor.
Posted by fonkeytowngirl (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 3:10 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by bellesouth (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 5:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They are going to build down under Roth's Hill? It's flooded twice in the last two years, yet they won't let condos be built on top of the hill? Stupid or what?
Posted by faithblessings (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But of course it's stupid, what else is natchez good for sooo backwards...Whew...come on Hollywood we the people need help here.
Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 10:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Leave morgantown alone,we don,t want to be in the city where they can tax us to death and we,ll pay for 10 years like they did last time before they received any services,some died before the new sewers were put in.
Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on July 29, 2009 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why would 2 casinos help when one is struggling already?
Posted by frmrtrinityparent (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 7:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Let's see. Over 300 jobs, millions paid in taxes to the state and city, millions spent in the community by the employees who get paychecks, unselfish donations to area charities, and thousands and thousands of man hours volunteered. Stop the hate, APPRECIATE!!!
I love this little boat, I love this little boat, I love this little boat!!!!!
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 8:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
frmtrinityparent, I too love that little boat!!!
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, one can surely look around Natchez and see all the improvements having a casino boat has made. The same glowing words used to promote the first boat are flowing in now. Years later, is Natchez any better off?
Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Where would Natchez be today with the present leadership if the Isle had not been giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars every so often in takes? Somebody needs to appreciate what "our" casino does for the city.
Armstrong, Johns Manville, Diamond International, and International Paper are no longer here to pay taxes. People aren't coming here as much and the $2 hotel tax isn't panning out. So I wonder how loud the peeps fussing about the property taxes would be yelling if the boat was not here? How many aldermen and county supervisors would take a pay cut to save our town? None have shown they would so far.
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Teach, if it the casino was not here, what would you have? I'll tell you, there would be several dollar stores, fast food stores, and your largest corporation would be wal-mart. All of the other plants were doomed way before the casino arrived, just took a while for them to finally die off. You want to point fingers, start with the politicians, that you and I voted in to office. What have they brought to Natchez? At least the casino does provide over 300 jobs, health care and an onsite clinic for their employees, and numerous other benefits. Additionally, the amount of money the city and state make off of the casino, not counting the local retailers who their employees shop with. Why everyone wants to point fingers at the casino are beyond me. Seems to me without them, this town would be the next Fayette/Ferriday. Those towns once upon a time had plenty of industry to keep them going, now look at them, where is the money. Heck Ferriday can't even supply fresh water for more than a week. But I guess the casino is to blame for that too.
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 11:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So the casino is the ONLY sustainable "industry" Natchez can have or will come to Natchez???? Come on folks.
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nothing will come to Natchez, till the public school system improves, hopefully with the new leadership changes that will happen. Now if we can get some people in office that actually cares for Natchez and just doesn't want an additional paycheck. That would greatly help as well. Corporations and industries are not justgoing to spin the globe and point a finger and when it stops say thats where were opening shop. We need people, good strong people that are able to pull business this way. These yahoo's we currently have have done very little for us, except for driving us further into the ground.
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Its just a shame that Tripod will soon have more money than Natchez, again.
Posted by mrmojorisin (anonymous) on July 30, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So many of you are right on target, and unfortunately the rest of you are right on target too....
The only real sustenance our town has known the past few years is the revenue generated by the casino. The casino has been a factor in attracting conventions, and putting bodies in the hotel rooms, the restaurants, and the bars and shops. It pays huge taxes. It makes great gifts to the community. Supports the Boys and Girls Club, the Sunshine Shelter, Kyle's House, Catholic Charities, the Food Pantry, Habitat for Humanities, and so many more. They provide jobs and income to local people.
The flip side of the coin, however, the house wins, period--end of story. The people least able to afford to lose the rent money are down there hoping for the dream come true. AA membership is up. The town is lit up with never before deemed necessary businesses like paycheck loan companies, pawn shops, cash for title loan companies...petty theft is up. Crediting ratings are down as people lose the car note and the mortgage payment on the boat.
And we're hanging our hat on another one as "Mayor Jake Middleton said the board of aldermen has been antsy in its desire to get the project off the ground."
We also want REAL industry, too. But the only types we are likely to attract are more prisons and casinos. What Woody Allen and his EDA people are courting, the large, growth based industries that employ upper middle income and executive income people want a school system that is forward thinking and moving, not 95% of any one race, and has a upper level accreditation. They want professionals running the schools. Not what we offer in this town...whether it's the public school of the private schools, our bell curve is ramshackled and hamstrung because not all rich, white kids are smart, and not all poor, black kids are dumb. Our bell curve looks more like the spike in the chart of a lie detector connected to George Bush. And until we take real steps to correct this problem...well, the gambling boats and the prisons will remain our mainstay.
Guess it's like my Daddy used to tell me when I complained about the stink from the papermill, "Son, that's the smell of good times and prosperity in the air", that I now tell my daughter when she asks me what a pawn shop is, "Honey, that's the sight of people losing their money and a tax base being generated."
--mojo
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