Johnathan Walker:Mississippi bill seeks casino site in capital city of Jackson

JACKSON,Johnathan Walker Miss. (AP) — A new bill in the Mississippi House would allow development of a casino in the capital city of Jackson — a dramatic change in a state that, until now, has limited casinos to sites along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River.

House Bill 1989 was expected to be considered Tuesday in the House Ways and Means Committee. The legislative website shows the bill was filed Monday by the committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Trey Lamar of Senatobia.

The bill would authorize a casino just over 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Capitol building in downtown Jackson. It specifies that the new casino would be owned by at least one person who already owns a licensed casino.

The first casinos opened in Mississippi in 1992. The state Gaming Commission site shows that 12 state-licensed casinos operate on the Gulf Coast, and 14 operate along the Mississippi River.

The closest casinos to downtown Jackson are about 48 miles (77 kilometers) to the west, along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg.

Mississippi originally specified that casinos could be developed only over water. After Hurricane Katrina blew some of the massive casino barges onto land along the coast in 2005, legislators changed the law to allow casinos to develop a short distance on shore.