Midway through the second half of Monday&8217;s Natchez version of the Roth Hill Dating Game, my head was spinning.

The two groups interested in bringing a second casino to the city participated in a dog and pony show trying to impress city leaders and residents.

I missed the first portion of the Lane Company&8217;s plans to develop Roth Hill, but I heard the entire presentation of the Natchez Riverfront Development Group and have read through both written proposals.

Portions of Monday&8217;s presentations reminded me of scenes from a film in which two would-be suitors are pining after the affections of the same fair maiden.

&8220;I promise to love you forever.&8221;

&8220;I&8217;ll do that and give you $100 a day for spending money.&8221;

&8220;I&8217;ll buy you a beautiful house and give you a sports car.&8221;

And the one-upsmanship comments just kept coming. But those kind of pie-in-the-sky comments and visions are commonplace when negotiating big development deals.

When all the fluff and flirtation is shaken out, however, the similarities become clear.

Both groups want to develop the site by focusing on the addition of a second casino in the city. Essentially, the casino will be among the first things built as its profit can help fuel the funding for other potential development properties.

Beyond that, the deals &8212; and the people behind them &8212; change significantly.

However getting caught up in the site specifics of the vision at this point is a bit premature. It&8217;s kind of like two people on their first date picking out wedding rings and a new house.

In essence, the designs of both developers would still have to go through the normal site zoning and planning procedures. During that process, the public would have some input into the specifics of the site&8217;s &8220;look.&8221;

However, we need to do less shopping for engagement rings and do a bit more consideration and study of the character and history of the persons sitting across the table from us.

On paper, the developers share some similarities. However, the two choices facing the city, when judged by simplicity of the deal, doing what&8217;s right for the city and for taxpayers, quickly start becoming more and more different.

The Lane Company has come to the table with its own financing already in place. No need to fiddle with any public funding at all.

Also, the Lane Company seems to be a one-stop deal &8212; one group, one deal. Since they&8217;ll handle everything, the communication should be much easier. The buck stops with them.

The Natchez Riverfront Development Group&8217;s biggest &8220;plus&8221; seems to be that there&8217;s one local connection to the group.

The downside seems to be that the group is made up of more than a few different groups, each seemingly with their own agendas.

And, perhaps more troubling, is that the NRDG did lots of talking about financing before the city leaders, including mentioning TIF or tax increment financing. In such a financial measure, the city essentially allows what would be additional tax to pay down debt for the developer. This is generally attractive to help spur development that otherwise might not be doable on the open market, which doesn&8217;t seem to be the case with Roth Hill.

Everyone in the deal wants to make money &8212; the Lane Company, the Natchez Riverfront Development Group (in all its varied parts) and the City of Natchez.

If the market will bear the investment, let&8217;s let it. If we&8217;re going to choose between the two companies, let&8217;s choose the one that comes to the table with a hand outstretched to shake hands and sign a check &8212; now.

The other side&8217;s hands will soon be scratching their heads and working the telephones to get all of the various partners onboard.

If confronted with such a problem, taking the bird in hand as opposed to two in the bush is always advisable &8212; especially when the hand bird seems capable of laying a few golden eggs.

Kevin Cooper

is associate publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or

kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com

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Thought for Today: &8216;&8216;Going to church doesn&8217;t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.&8217;&8217; &8212; William Ashley &8216;&8216;Billy&8217;&8217; Sunday, American evangelist (1862-1935).