Effects of gambling on state's geography need study, professor says

Dr. Klaus Meyer-Arendt, associate professor in the Geosciences Department, specializes in the geographical aspects of tourism. He is now looking at Mississippi's burgeoning gaming industry and what its effects might be on everything from beach litter to increased traffic to urban skyline changes.

"We're on a growth curve," Meyer-Arendt said of the state's gambling. "Everybody just sees dollar signs now, but we need to look at the bigger picture. We need to keep track of not just the economic and sociological impact, but the environmental and geographic impact as well."

Currently, there are 11 dockside casinos operating along the coast and the Mississippi River, and more are on the way. Meyer-Arendt said licenses for 40 others have been approved or are awaiting approval. This count doesn't include the proposed land-based casino on the Choctaw Indian reservation near Philadelphia.

Meyer-Arendt and graduate student Ali A. Abusalih are beginning to gather data and will make their first report this spring at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting in San Francisco.

"We need to monitor what's going on," Meyer-Arendt said. "What will the gambling do to the landscape? How will it affect places like impoverished Tunica? What about quality of life?"

He and Abusalih will attempt to answer these questions and others as they probe the industry.

"Take Biloxi, for instance," Meyer-Arendt said. "Most of the dockside casinos are being built away from the traditional tourist area. Instead, they are springing up in the former commercial and industrial districts.

"This could fragment the city and some historically ethnic neighborhoods," he added.

In northwest Mississippi, some 13 identifiable casinos are planned for Tunica, once one of the poorest regions in Mississippi. The tourism expert said the state could evolve into two big casino strips along the Gulf Coast and around Tunica, each like a mini Las Vegas.

Because surrounding states are now looking into legalizing gambling, Meyer-Arendt said Mississippi's gaming faces some uncertainty.

"Will some casinos go broke and leave if other states get gambling?" he asked rhetorically, adding, "There's a lot of bankruptcy in Nevada, but there are a lot of new starts, too."

What Mississippi needs now, Meyer-Arendt believes, is a comprehensive study that would detail how to ensure that the flow of money remains high so the industry doesn't collapse on itself.

"What we're seeing is piecemeal development," he said. "We need a plan, a pattern, an infrastructure."

Based on an S-curve model, he believes Mississippi's gaming revenues are still climbing and have yet to peak. Meyer-Arendt said that wherever the growth stops, even with competition from neighboring states, the state could average a substantial annual income from gaming.