The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians owns and operates the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Photo: g-s-h

Openings & Closings

Mississippi Choctaws headed to polls to vote on plans for new gaming facility

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Citizens of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians are voting on plans for a new gaming facility on the reservation.

The Red Water Casino is to be located in Leake County. The facility will generate more revenues and jobs for the tribe, Chief Phyliss J. Anderson told The Jackson Clarion Ledger.

“With the growing population and over 50 percent of the population under 25, the need for jobs is there, but what this casino will allow us to do is to use those funds to reinvest back into the tribe for government services,” Anderson told the paper.

But some citizens question whether the casino will draw revenues away from the existing facilities on the reservation and whether it will add more to the tribe's debt. They secured enough signatures on a petition to put the issue to a vote of the people on Thursday.

"If Red Water is built, our grandchildren will be born into debt. It's time to stop," a group called Chahta for Better Government wrote in a post on Facebook on Monday.

The tribe's flagship gaming facility is the Pearl River Resort, which consists of two separate casinos. It's about 30 miles from the Red Water site.

The tribe also operates the Bok Homa Casino in a satellite community about 100 miles away. Plans call for Red Water to be similar in size to that facility.

Read More on the Story:
Choctaws vote Thursday on possible 4th casino (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger November 13, 2017)
Tribe to vote on proposed Red Water Casino Thursday (The Neshoba Democrat November 15, 2017)
Choctaw Tribe votes on new casino venture (Mississippi News Now November 15, 2017)