In Mississippi, real estate developer RW Development has reportedly resurrected a plan to build a new casino in the city of Biloxi after having its initial proposal rejected some eight and a half years ago.

According to a report from local television broadcaster WLOX-TV, RW Development wants to construct a casino on the same plot of land it tried for in 2008, which is located at the junction of Veterans Avenue and United States Highway 90, despite the Mississippi Gaming Commission refusing the original proposal because it did not meet the southern state’s requirements in terms of its distance from the mean high tide mark.

However, WLOX-TV reported that the intervening years have seen the waterfront area premiere new restaurants and entertainment venues while there is also a plan to build a half-mile pedestrian walkway between Veterans Avenue and Rodenberg Avenue. The hoped-for casino scheme could additionally benefit from the support of a recently-established business group called the Biloxi Boardwalk Association, which plans to adopt a resolution in support of the project.

“I think the RW Development project just goes hand-in-hand with that; bringing more traffic, tourism and more business to the water,” local restaurant owner Rob Stinson told WLOX-TV. “I think it will make that truly the pinnacle of Biloxi. I think it will be the greatest area on the water where tourists will want to go.”

Nevertheless, critics of the plan have reportedly pointed to the fact that the immediate area is already home to eight casinos including the Treasure Bay Casino And Hotel, which is located only about 2,600 feet from the proposed site for RW Development’s scheme, while Biloxi is moreover set to welcome the $265 million Foxwoods Resort Casino At Biloxi Pointe early next year.

In spite of this, gambling advocates are reportedly convinced that RW Development’s scheme will be approved while the project also recently gained support from the neighboring Big Play Entertainment Center bowling alley and restaurant facility.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Kellie Sperry from the Big Play Entertainment Center told WLOX-TV. “It’s going to bring not only more tourists and more people to this area but it’s also going to bring in more employment and more jobs. We’re always looking for places to bring more jobs to the Gulf Coast.”

WLOX-TV reported that the Mississippi Gaming Commission is set to initially consider RW Development’s latest proposal at its next monthly meeting, which is scheduled to take place on February 16 at the D’Iberville City Hall Building, where a similar request from Jacobs Entertainment Incorporated for permission to build a casino near the community of Diamondhead is also due to be discussed.

“I don’t think that we’re saturated, I really don’t,” Stinson told WLOX-TV. “I think anything that will bring more people into the area we’re talking about would be great for us.”