NATCHEZ &8212;Details of a casino and hotel proposed for Natchez won&8217;t be disclosed by the firms involved unless aldermen choose to contract with that company, a party close to the deal said Thursday.

And the earliest aldermen are expected to pick a proposal would be at their Jan. 10 meeting, a day after they interview representatives of four companies seeking to bring a hotel &8212; and in this case, casino &8212; to the area.

Last month, aldermen received proposals from four parties seeking to build a hotel across Canal Street from the convention center. Those included Thomas Bauer of New Orleans, Glen Simmons of Atlanta, Akshar LLC of El Dorado, Ark., and Michigan-based ProVisions.

City officials on Wednesday opened the sole bid they received for development of a casino-hotel, from a New York corporation Expect a Miracle Inc. The city&8217;s request for proposals promised developers details of their proposals would be kept confidential.

The hotel would be located at the site adjacent to the convention center; the casino, at the Roth Hill riverfront site.

&8220;Tell you the truth, I don&8217;t know&8221; the details, said David Kennedy of Windsor Financial Group of Ridgeland, which would handle financing for the casino-hotel.

&8220;But they&8217;ve got to make (details) public at some point to get approval from the Gaming Commission.&8221;

That&8217;s despite the fact that Kennedy and Artie Armstrong were listed as submitting the proposal to the city on behalf of Expect a Miracle.

Kennedy did say Expect a Miracle Inc. is a consulting firm &8220;negotiating with two casino companies&8221; about the possibility of bringing a casino-hotel to Natchez.

He would not say which companies the firm is talking with or what casinos Expect a Miracle has been associated in the past.

Executives of Expect a Miracle &8212; according to the New York Division of Corporations, a company founded in 1998 with a Queens address &8212; could not be reached for comment Thursday.

No telephone number was listed in Mississippi for Artie Armstrong, who Kennedy said is a consultant representing Expect a Miracle locally.

The consultant is the same Artie Armstrong who, in 1999, was convicted of bribery for trying to influence a Jackson City Council vote on rezoning for a strip club.

Mayor Phillip West said Thursday he doesn&8217;t know the details of Armstrong&8217;s conviction.

&8220;He just delivered the proposal,&8221; West said.

&8220;Due diligence will be done with the parties involved, but the major emphasis would be on the investors from New York, since they&8217;re the ones doing this (proposal).&8221;