Mississippi off-reservation casino process may change
As reported by The Biloxi Sun-Herald

BILOXI, Miss. - "A top official with the Department of the Interior has notified Indian tribes that the agency is reconsidering how it handles applications for off-reservation casinos because of public opposition to the expansion of gambling.

"James E. Cason, associate deputy Secretary of the Interior, said the agency 'anticipates changes to the rules that may result in fewer off-reservation properties being accepted to trust' in letters mailed to tribes that are seeking casinos.

"…The policy change could make it more difficult for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to open a proposed casino in Jackson County, where gambling is illegal. The Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen has officially gone on record as being opposed to the casino. The proposed casino site is about 200 miles from the Choctaw reservation.

"Barb Lindsay, the national director of One Nation United, a group opposed to the expansion of tribal casinos outside of historic reservation lands, said the policy shift is 'true progress.'

"…Dennis Puzz Jr., a member of the Yurok Tribe and lawyer in Best & Flanagan LLP's Native American Law Section, said there is a tremendous backlog of applications in the pipeline because tribes were trying to beat the implementation of a new law that Congress was considering last year. Although no such law was passed, the move did spur the Department of Interior to review its regulations for tribal casinos…"

Casinos expand beyond gambling
As reported by The Press of Atlantic City

"...Shopping, dining and entertainment now overshadow the gambling operations as more and more casinos transform themselves into megaresorts catering to increasingly fickle guests, according to the results of a national survey released Tuesday.

"Twice as many Americans now say the overall 'casino experience' — the food, the shows, retail shops and everything else — is more fun than the actual gambling, the American Gaming Association found.

"...Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., the AGA's president and chief executive officer, noted that Atlantic City's casinos have been adding Las Vegas-style nongaming attractions to help them fend off new competition from Pennsylvania's slot parlors.

"...The emphasis on nongaming attractions has helped to improve the public perception of the gambling industry, with 82 percent of Americans now saying that casinos are an acceptable form of entertainment for themselves or anyone else, the survey found.

"...Despite the trend for more restaurants, shopping and entertainment, the casino floor remains a strong draw. In 2006, gross gaming revenue for the casino industry climbed 6.8 percent to a record $32.42 billion, the survey found. In Atlantic City, gaming revenue rose 4 percent to $5.2 billion, second in the U.S. market to the nearly $6.7 billion for the Las Vegas Strip casinos..."