The proposed Black Marlin Casino has cleared a key local hurdle after the Biloxi Planning Commission unanimously approved the project’s master plan, rezoning request and removal of 28 protected trees.

RW Development presented the 119,000-square-foot casino resort during the commission’s Sept. 3 meeting. The development would occupy an 11-acre site around U.S. 90 and Veterans Avenue, where the Big Play Entertainment Center currently operates. The casino proposal has been in development for more than 15 years.

John Stewart, owner and founder of Encompass Develop Design and Construct, led the presentation. “It’s been a lot of work going into that, a lot of meeting with the city, and a lot of partnership with the community,” Stewart said.

Three parcels facing McDonnell Avenue required rezoning before the development could move forward. Biloxi Community Development Director Jerry Creel said the city’s Planned Development Gaming Establishment overlay district requires property covered by the request to have waterfront zoning.

“The reason for that is because under a PDGE in our ordinance which is a Planned Development Gaming Establishment overlay district, all of the property in the request has to be zoned waterfront,” Creel said.

The commission approved the zoning change along with the master plan. The decision sends those matters to the Biloxi City Council for further review.

Resort Plan Includes Casino, Hotel and Pier

Black Marlin would include a 300-room hotel and a 43,800-square-foot casino. The gaming floor is planned to have 1,100 slot machines, 24 live dealer table games and a sportsbook. The wider resort would also contain restaurants, meeting and event space, retail and 668 parking spaces.

The parking plan exceeds the 500 spaces required by the Mississippi Gaming Commission. Most spaces would sit at grade, with a raised parking structure also included. The plan provides 16 accessible spaces, including three van spaces.

A $1 million accessible pier would form part of the development south of the casino. RW Development plans to name it the Veterans Avenue Pier. According to local news station WLOX, the project would replace a pier at the West Beach Boardwalk that Hurricane Katrina destroyed in August 2005.

The pier previously played a role in the effort to establish the property’s waterfront status. Ray Wooldridge, whose company RW Development owns the site, argued that linking the casino property to a public pier would provide the waterfront connection required for a casino project.

Former Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann challenged whether Wooldridge needed a tidelands lease for the pier. The dispute eventually reached the Mississippi Supreme Court, which ruled in March 2023 that Wooldridge did not need such a lease to build a public pier.

If the City Council and Mississippi Gaming Commission approve the project, Black Marlin would become Biloxi’s ninth casino and the 13th casino in South Mississippi. It would also be the first new casino on the Coast since Scarlet Pearl Casino opened in D’Iberville in 2015.

Protected Trees Draw Attention

The commission also considered RW Development’s request to remove 28 protected trees from the property. The trees include 25 live oaks and three magnolias.

An arborist’s assessment found 18 of the trees in poor condition and seven in fair condition, while three were considered healthy. The earlier assessment also identified signs of historic and continuing disturbance to some root systems and growing areas.

Larry Tucei of the Coastal Live Oak Project spoke against removing the trees, highlighting the potential lifespan of the live oaks.

“A live oak can live for 400 years. These trees are only 100; they’ve got several hundred years to go. They’ve survived countless hurricanes, and I just feel like they shouldn’t be—we should try to protect trees down here. It’s what makes our coast so beautiful,” Tucei said.

The arborist recommended that any approved removal remain subject to Biloxi’s mitigation requirements. The assessment said the trees continued to hold value within the urban forest despite their existing conditions.

RW Development must compensate for the removal by planting 209 new trees, contributing to the city’s tree fund, or combining both approaches.

Creel said commissioners considered public comments and the arborist’s report before approving the removal.

“After reports from the people in the audience, questions from people in the audience, and also the report from our consulting arborist who actually went out and looked at the trees, the planning commission voted unanimously to approve the removal of the 28 trees,” Creel said.

City and Gaming Commission Approvals Remain

The planning decision advances the development, although construction still requires additional approvals.

Before the commission’s vote, RW Development faced a late-December deadline tied to a previous Mississippi Gaming Commission site approval. The company must obtain permission to proceed with development, while the gaming regulator conducts background and financial reviews to determine whether the project has the necessary resources to reach completion.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission had previously indicated that an applicant seeking permission to proceed would need to demonstrate that local governments did not oppose the project. The Biloxi planning approval therefore represents an important step before the casino’s application reaches the state regulator.

The City Council will now consider the Black Marlin master plan and zoning change. If the council approves the development, RW Development can then seek the Mississippi Gaming Commission’s approval.