CanCan Casino Resort to be Built in D'Iberville
From: News Release Filed 2/26/10 GCN
A nationally recognized group of gaming operators wants to make D’Iberville the home of the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s next world-class casino.
CanCan Casino Resort and Spa, LLC, received site approval from the Mississippi Gaming Commission Thursday on a 5-acre waterfront site on the east side of I-110 in D’Iberville overlooking scenic Biloxi Back Bay.
The CanCan Casino project mirrors efforts underway by the City of D’Iberville to transform their downtown into a premier shopping and entertainment destination.
D’Iberville officials noted the CanCan project could be the anchor the city needs to realize its downtown redevelopment ambitions.
"We’ve been looking for a catalyst such as this to jumpstart our downtown development," Mayor Rusty Quave said.
"The City of D’Iberville has been working hard for many years to transform our downtown and waterfront into areas where retail shops, restaurants and unique attractions can flourish," City Manager Michael Janus said. "The CanCan project will help us realize these plans."
When completed, CanCan will boast a 60,000-square-foot casino with 1,800 slots and 40 gaming tables, four sumptuous restaurants, a first-class French spa, 250 luxuriously appointed rooms and suites, and two exclusive retail outlets. CanCan will employ around 1,100 people.
CanCan’s principals worked with the leadership at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in D’Iberville to secure the 4.9-acre waterfront site.
Joseph Py and Joseph Manno, President/CEO, are the principals of CanCan Development, LLC.
Included among CanCan’s management advisors are gaming industry veterans H. Steven Norton and David Cacci.
"I’m thrilled to be back on the Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Manno.
"City and State officials have been very cooperative, and we appreciate that very much," he said.
Manno, a 29-year veteran of the casino business, was the President/CEO of the Havana Casino Resort project on Biloxi’s Point Cadet. The Havana project had received approval, but was derailed by Hurricane Katrina. Manno had relocated his family to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but lost his home to the storm. Manno’s experience includes running the operations at Paris Casino and Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas. Norton has headed four national casino companies as President/CEO. Cacci comes to the CanCan project after serving as President/CEO of NewYork, NewYork in Las Vegas. Joesph Py is a retired businessman.
Francis Xavier Dumont has been tapped to design CanCan. He has served as architect for scores of casino projects, including the Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, NM, Casa Del Sol in Tucson, AZ, and the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ. Other notable projects by Dumont’s firm, Leo A Daly, include the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
One sign that CanCan is committed to providing a high level of culinary excellence is the hiring of premier Food & Beverage executive Robert Zitto. Zitto has headed F&B operations for Steve Wynn and Caesar’s Entertainment.
Local team members include attorneys Danny McDaniel and Michael Cavanaugh; Thompson Engineering, and The Guice Agency.
D’Iberville adds casino, hotel to economic plans
By MARY PEREZ - meperez@sunherald.com
D’IBERVILLE — Thursday was a banner day for economic development in D’Iberville, with site approval given for Oyster Bay Casino on the Back Bay and the announcement of a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel coming to The Promenade shopping complex.
Mayor Rusty Quave said the developers of Oyster Bay intend to build a smaller, 65,000-square-foot casino.
“They’re putting more of the emphasis on tourism and the French Quarter,” which is planned for the city’s adjacent downtown, he said.
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With a variety of old ships planned to be docked at Oyster Bay, “It will be like a museum on the water,” he said.
The resort will recall the seafood heritage of the Coast.
“We are going to get a replica here of a great tall ship,” said Thomas Brosig, president of The Brosig Group, who presented the $150 million project to the Mississippi Gaming Commission. He said they also plan to bring schooners and oyster boats for guests to tour.
The idea is to create a must-see resort and entertainment venue for visitors to the Coast, he said. The retail also will be an attraction, focusing on selling goods that are made, baked, sculpted and painted there by young people who he envisions coming from across the country for internships to learn a trade.
Visitors would drive into what looks like a waterfront warehouse, he said. Four restaurants are planned, including a buffet, café and diner, with most overlooking the water and the tall ship.
Oyster Bay is being developed by Malcolm Duane Lewis, a commercial real estate developer, and Tom Moore, a D’Iberville native and director of The New Hope Program that assists children with disabilities. The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs and generate $8 million in annual tax revenue.
Brosig said these are tough times to get financing for casinos.
“However, I’m confident,” he said. People are already talking about Oyster Bay, he said. “What we really want is Wall Street to start talking.”
The Home2 Suites will be at the entrance of The Promenade near the new Shoe Station. The five-story hotel with 100 suites and an outdoor saltwater pool. It is among the first of this new design of extended-stay hotels built in the country.
Gabe Thomas with Thomas Properties of Athens, Tenn., said it will accommodate both long-term military and families and those who want to stay overnight and shop.
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