Biloxi Fed up with “Pokémon Go”

It looks like the City of Biloxi is saying no to “Pokémon Go.” News 25’s Hank Davis was at a popular area for users of the app this afternoon and brings us the full story.
The evidence of the Biloxi Lighthouse and Visitor Center area’s popularity with “Pokémon Go” users is fairly evident. The increase in foot traffic has killed the grass on the center’s lawn and the ground is littered with cigarette butts, much to the city’s dismay.
Cecilia Dobbs Walton with the City of Biloxi said, “The city has made a request to the app to remove the visitors center, the lighthouse and the parking lot south of the lighthouse. They’re hoping that some other areas such as Hiller Park, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum and the Maritime Museum may be other places for the players to go.”
Weather might be keeping all the “Pokémon Go” users indoors right now, but sometimes the lawn of the visitors center can have as many as 200 people playing the app at one time.
What exactly draws so many players to this area? Having multiple landmarks in close proximity to one another has created a “Pokémon Go” goldmine. “Pokémon Go” enthusiast Lance Verdin said, “There’s a stop at the Robinson-Maloney House. There’s a stop at the corner right over here by the welcome center. There’s also a stop in the back which all passes along the pathway, but like I said a lot of people play the game and they should respect the property”
Although most of the increase in traffic to the area is being caused by “Pokémon Go,” some of the people you see in the area are still just visitors being welcomed to our state by “Pokémon.” Martin Perez is traveling from Houston. He said, “We just came around because my friend needed to use the restroom. We didn’t even know about the Pokéstops until we actually opened the game which was after we got here to look at the things.”