No decision on casinos evacuations - Friday 12th of August 2005
Larry Gregory, the executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, said at 5:30 p.m. Saturday “There is a good chance the casinos will be closed soon� because of the approach of Hurricane Katrina.
Gregory kept in contact throughout the day with staff members assigned to emergency response centers and Gaming Commission members. “Were looking at all the monitors,� Gregory said. “At this time, Katrina is still going westward and not made its northern move. Im trying to determine the best time to close the casinos. There is a good chance the casinos will be closed soon.�
In July, when Hurricane Dennis was churning in the Gulf, the Gaming Commission issued a closure order for casinos in Harrison County only after the Harrison County Board of Supervisors issued a mandatory evacuation order. Casino Magic Bay St. Louis in Hancock County remained open because the Gaming Commission did not make the order Coast-wide.
This time around, the Gaming Commission indicated it may close casinos before any evacuation orders were issued.
Last month, the Mississippi Coast was relatively untouched by Hurricane Dennis. Gross gambling revenue on the Coast for July was down $11.4 million from July 2004 because of the closure. The closure occurred on the weekend after the Independence Day holiday.
Jerry St. Pe, the chairman of the Gaming Commission, said he did not think the forecasts from that hurricane necessitated a closure.
“Did the Gaming Commission last time view the forecasts as requiring the commission to close down the casinos?� St. Pe said. “The answer is no. We didnt make the decision. Once the civil defense authorities called for an evacuation, then it was a moot conversation.�
The Gaming Commission has since contracted with Al Archer, a meteorologist, to provide forecast information. St. Pe, the former head of shipbuilding operations at Northrop Grumman, suggested the arrangement because Archer provided the same service to that industry.
“Hes giving us a lot more focus in terms of narrowing this down a little bit,� St. Pe said. “But I dont think theres a situation in which an independent meteorologist under contract is going to disagree largely with the National Weather Service. You get what I would describe as a little more focus.�
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