Gov. Haley Barbour (R) said he will file a lawsuit to stop the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians from building a new casino.

Barbour asked Attorney General Jim Hood to look into the issue. Hood concluded there was no legal basis to challenge the casino but Barbour said he will hire his own lawyer and fight the tribe.

"I intend to proceed with legal action to stop this gaming development that is clearly inconsistent with the policy of this State to develop destination gaming for the economic benefit of all Mississippians," Barbour wrote in a letter to Hood.

Barbour criticized Hood for publicly releasing a memo about the issue and for giving a copy to the tribe. Barbour publicly asked Hood to look into the casino last month.

The casino would be located near Sandersville, in Jones County. The site is considered part of the reservation although it is not contiguous to the main reservation.

The site is about 80 miles from tribal headquarters in Philadelphia, where the tribe operates two casinos.

Get the Story:
Barbour plans to hire own lawyer to fight Choctaw casino in Jones (The Neshoba Democrat 7/26)
Gov. Barbour furious with Hood, removes him from gaming case (Legal Newsline 7/26)
Miss. gov says he'll sue to block tribe's casino (AP 6/26)

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