Nelson said states would benefit from having central or coordinated planning. It would help to have one agency in charge. If you have several different agencies involved, it's important that all the agencies communicate and work well together. He noted that Mississippi has been able to use increased funding from tidelands leasing to purchase sensitive wetlands areas. It's not just the gambling industry, but any big, new industry with deep pockets that increases development pressures.
People tend to vilify gambling as the root of all evil.
The key is establishing partnerships between the developers and the community to mitigate the larger impacts.