Lawmakers move to end Point Cadet lease payment dispute

Mississippi lawmakers are moving to resolve a dispute over lease payments for Gulf Coast waterfront property occupied by a casino.
The House approved House Bill 5 which would allow Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann to pay $1.59 million to the owners of Biloxi’s Point Cadet which is now leased by the Golden Nugget Casino.
The City of Biloxi would get $606,000 while the college board and the state tidelands fund would each get $494,000. That formula follows a 2002 court settlement.
Biloxi officials had asked a judge to order payment, but city spokesman Vincent Creel says the bill should end the dispute.