Project Description
Natchez Riverside Entertainment, LP (NRE) was formed in 2009 and is a limited partnership of 38 EB-5 investor limited partners with day-to-day management controlled by the general partner, RJ Capital LLC. EB-5 investors are responsible for $19,000,000 out of a $55,000,000 project, although the local government had already spent tens of millions of dollars on the project above the $55,000,000 before the partnership of EB-5 investor stepped in to “save” the development. NRE funded the construction of the Magnolia Bluffs Casino, a casino on the banks of the Mississippi River in Natchez, a historic town in southwestern Mississippi.
Construction of the casino began in 2011 and it opened in December 2012. Magnolia Bluffs is significant because it was the first land-based casino Mississippi; previously, gaming was only permitted on river boats. Magnolia Bluffs was built partially on land and also above the water, which presented several logistical and engineering challenges, but the exquisite final products shows that navigating those challenges was certainly worthwhile. Today, the casino is opened and thriving under the management of Kevin Preston, an experienced casino manager who relocated to Natchez to take part in this development.
At the I-526 stage, Lubin, Salvetti & Associates represented all investors with a 100% approval rate. The NRE project has created 612 jobs as of mid-2014. Investors began filing I-829 petitions based upon this job creation in May 2014, and clearly there are enough jobs created to allow all investors to succeed in their I-829 filings. Redemptions are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2015.