What a difference a decade makes. Natchez, according to city officials, is in a better bargaining position than it was more than10 years ago when it attracted its first casino.

That deal, which put Lady Luck at Natchez Under-the-Hill, wasn’t exactly considered the best at the time.

Now, a second developer &045; and not the only one over the years &045; wants to put a gaming boat at the bottom of Roth Hill. How do we avoid getting the same deal we did before?

Things are different now, says city attorney Walter Brown &045; Natchez owns the land Charles Cato wants to develop, has a better bargaining position with a casino already established and has the infrastructure for gaming.

But, in a balancing act it has been performing for years, the city must also weigh the need for development versus the need for historic preservation.

We hope the city’s better negotiating position will also help officials better plan for that balance. We would hate to see the city gamble away such a prime location as the Roth Hill site.

While gaming has its foes, we can’t deny the reality that Lady Luck &045; now Isle of Capri &045; has brought jobs to our community, along with a sense of corporate citizenship.

Natchez will most likely never be Tunica or Biloxi, and that is more than fine with us. We have a greater wealth of attractions to lure and entertain tourists.

But with the right deal and the right decisions, we could add to those attractions and help boost our economy &045; as long as we take it one step at a time.