The $25 million a year Red Water Casino project is in danger, after a judge ruled Mississippi voters should decided the issue. Chief Phyllis Anderson of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has 10 days to appeal the judge’s decision.
The possible referendum is part of a power struggle among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. While the judge’s ruling is recent news, the saga of the Choctaw Indians has been playing out over the course of 2017.
The issues at stake include a fourth casino for the Choctaw Indians, questions of voter suppression, and a recall vote on the tribe’s chief.
Red Water Casino in Leake County
Chief Phyliss Anderson supports the Red Water Casino plan in Redwater, a town of 409 people in Leake County in Central Mississippi. The development costs an estimated $25 million a year. When completed, Anderson says the casino will create 250 new jobs, generate $50 million a year in revenues, and $20 million a year in profits.
Anderson is on record saying, “I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for our tribe. We hope to have it [the casino] paid [for] in 18 months.”
February 2017 Red Water Casino Press Conference
When the development was announced at a press conference in February 2017, Chief Phyliss Anderson said, “Of that, 17,000 will be the gaming area. We are going to have 500 slot machines.”
Eventually, Red Water Casino will contain 750 slot machines and 10 table games. Anderson said no money would be borrowed to finance the casino, but eventually, the development will increase the tribe’s finances by a significant margin. Once we bring all of our revenues together as one, the bottom line will be about $15 million higher than what we have today.”
The Mississippi Choctaw’s chief added, “We do have some people that are against the casino. It was approved by the tribal council with a 9-7 vote. Some members of the tribe say it’s fiscally irresponsible to build a new casino that will take away from Golden Moon and Silver Star.”
Opponents of Red Water Casino
Those other members of the tribe say the Choctaw Indians do not need a fourth casino. They argue that another casino would be an opportunity for corruption, while they claim Chief Anderson has suppressed attempts to stop the Red Water Casino plan. They believe fiscal irresponsibility by Anderson is the reason the tribe is having financial problems.
In January 2017, a group of tribe members calling themselves “Choctaw for Better Government” launched a recall effort. The accused Anderson of fiscal irresponsibility and employment discrimination.
For her part, Phyliss Anderson characterized Choctaw for Better Government as a small number of disgruntled tribe members. Chief Anderson said of the recall effort, “It’s disappointing that now when so many wonderful things are occurring on the reservation a small group is trying to discredit the work.”
Choctaw for Better Government Statement
Nikki Comby, a spokeswoman for Choctaw for Better Government, said that Phyliss Anderson and her political cronies are the ones gaining all the advantages from the tribe’s casinos. Comby said, “If it’s only [Anderson] supporters who are getting jobs or supporters who are getting pay increases then we can put two and two together and realize it’s not about the qualification.”
The Red Water Casino particularly rankles the anti-Anderson faction. After the casino was voted down twice, Phyllis Anderson tried to push through a third vote on the casino. Comby said the casino market in their part of Mississippi already is saturated, so building another casino would be a needless expense.
Nikki Comby added, “Carthage may grow and Red Water casino may grow, but it will be at the risk of Neshoba casinos, which are ours. If anyone goes to Golden Moon (pictured) now even on a busy night, it’s still very empty.”
Red Water Casino Lawsuit
The recall effort is only part of the intrigue among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Two factions of the tribe are fighting to determine whether the tribe will build a fourth casino. Chief Anderson wants to build Red Water Casino, while Choctaw for Better Government filed suit against the measure.
In May 2017, “Choctaw for Better Government” filed a lawsuit against the Red Water Casino project. They asked a district judge to approve a vote on the measure, to keep the tribal council from ramrodding the decision through. The group collected over 1,700 signatures on a petition, then accused Anderson of personally calling signees in an attempt to have them remove their signatures.
Tribal Election Commission Has 10 Days to Appeal
Last week, the judge ruled on behalf of the anti-Red Water Casino group. The judge ruled that a vote should take place to decide the matter. Chief Anderson and the Tribal Election Commission now have 10 days to appeal the decision. An appeal is likely to happen, which might delay the vote.
