The Margaritaville Casino and Resort project in Biloxi, Mississippi has been on hold since 2008 and it now appears that construction will not get under way again anytime soon:

The construction cranes are about to be taken down at the site of the stagnant Margaritaville project on Biloxi’s Casino Row.

Harrah’s executive John Payne called WLOX News Wednesday to let us know that over the next few weeks, the cranes would be disassembled. However, Payne emphasized that his company still intends to find new partners and complete the Margaritaville expansion.

Payne said the idle cranes cost Harrah’s $10,000 a month. Since they’re not being used, the company determined it would be more cost effective to remove them from the east Biloxi property.

The developers have been looking for partners since at least November of last year.

Unveiled in 2007, the original plans called for a $700 million resort with 798 rooms, a full-service spa, a pool/deck area with cabanas, bar and tropical landscaping, all on 46 acres of land south of U. S. Highway 90.

A plan to turn the Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City into a Margaritaville-themed casino and hotel fell through in June of last year.

2009 was another big year for Jimmy Buffett. His summer tour was hugely successful again, he partnered with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field Landshark Stadium, and a new album dropped in December. And of course there was lots more in between. So here’s our Jimmy Buffett 2009 Year in Review:

January

• In early January Jimmy made a swing through the Caribbean, making stops at his Margaritaville Cafes in Grand Cayman and Cozumel where he, Mac, and Nadirah played surprise shows
• Buffett attends Wounded Warriors Project’s Soldier Ride in Key West
• Spring and summer tour dates began to trickle out in mid-to-late January

February

• On February 2nd Margaritaville.com confirmed all shows for the Summerzcool Tour
• Also on February 2nd, Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber Restaurant opened in Honolulu
• Parrothead license plates become available for South Carolina residents
• On February 12th, Jimmy played a surprise show at the Margaritaville in Key West



• About 2 weeks later, Mailboat Records releases 4 digital downloads from the Key West show
• On Tuesday the 24th, Buffett and the Coral Reefers open the 2009 Summerzcool Tour in Maui
• On the 26th he plays a private show for the opening of Jimmy Buffett’s at the Beachcomber

March

• Jimmy performs at Netscape founder Jim Clark’s wedding in the British Virgin Islands



• In late March, we report that Margaritaville Rum is coming soon
• Also at the end of the month, Coral Reefer Mac McAnally releases a new single: “You First”

April

• Buffett sends out an April Fool’s joke on his Twitter account saying that the summer tour has been canceled
• On April 10th, Jimmy called in to Radio Margaritaville to discuss the tour and a new album in the works



• First rumblings surface about Jimmy entering into a partnership with the Miami Dolphins
• Spring tour kicks off in Atlanta on April 16th
• Buffett also plays Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Tampa in April
• A planned Today Show appearance by Jimmy in Key West in May is scrapped so that the NBC staff could stay in NYC to cover the Swine Flu outbreak

May

• It was announced on May 1st that Jimmy had entered into a agreement with the Miami Dolphins to rename their home field “Landshark Stadium”
• “Summerzcool” is released as a digital download



• The Fall tour dates are removed from Margaritaville.com, causing mass speculation and frustrating parrotheads on the West Coast
• On May 8th the Dolphins held a press conference in Miami announcing the stadium’s name change to Landshark Stadium. Jimmy performed at the event
• Tour resumed on May 14th in Phoenix. Jimmy also plays Las Vegas, Concord CA, and Irvina CA in May
• Additional Fall tour dates are announced in London, Paris, Orlando, and Charlottsville, VA. The San Diego, Seattle, and Las Vegas shows planned for the Fall are officially canceled

June

• Trump Entertainment Resorts terminates the agreement with Coastal Development to buy the Trump Marina and Casino and turn it into a Margaritaville-themed casino
• It’s announced that the first Canadian Margaritaville will open in Edmonton
• “Margaritaville” referenced on The Colbert Report
• On June 13th Jimmy performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee
• i-Encore, a parrothead iPhone app is released in mid-June
• Tour resumes on June 18th in Camden, NJ. Jimmy also plays in Pittsburgh and Boston
• In late June, former Coral Reefer Tim Krekel (pictured right) died after a short battle with cancer

July

• On July 1st, Jimmy Buffett and parrotheads are mentioned on an episode of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
• Jimmy performs in London on July 5th
• On July 9th, Jimmy rode along in the Lance Armstrong’s Team Astana car at the Tour de France
• It was reported that Jimmy Buffett serenaded Walter Cronkite in the weeks before his death
• In late July Coastal Development sues Trump over the Atlantic City casino deal



• On the 29th, Jimmy makes a surprise appearance at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York
• Jimmy performs and is interviewed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on July 29th

August

• Tour resumes in Cincinnati on the 6th. Jimmy also plays Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Atlantic City, Wantagh NY, and East Troy WI in the month of August

September

• On the 2nd, Politico reports that Jimmy Buffett was at the White House



• Jimmy speaks and performs at a memorial for Walter Cronkite in NYC on the 9th
• In mid-September the Orlando show scheduled for November 14th was removed from Margaritaville.com’s tour dates page with no explanation given
• Jimmy lends his boat to three combat veterans
• Prior to the Dolphins Monday Night Football game on the 21st, Jimmy performs outside of the stadium
• A new line of iced tea by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is announced
• On September 30th it was announced that Jimmy had joined the effort to restore Miami’s Marine Stadium, the venue for the Live By The Bay show from 1985.

October

• On October 16th the Margaritaville on Grand Cayman was robbed
• Jimmy plays for the National Association of Convenience Stores in Las Vegas



• Jimmy performs at Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, CA on October 24th

November

• We reported on the 3rd that “Margaritaville” had been trademarked for video game use
• On the 7th, Jimmy played a show on St. Barth’s for the 60th anniversary of Le Select
• The CMA Awards were held on the 11th and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally won Musician Of The Year for the second straight year
• Jimmy plays final shows of the Summerzcool Tour in Charlottsville VA, Toronto, Uncasville CT, and New York City
• On the morning of the 23rd, Jimmy appeared on the Today Show to discuss his upcoming album “Buffet Hotel”

December

• Jimmy’s new album “Buffet Hotel” is released. It’s Jimmy’s first studio album since “Take The Weather With You” in 2006
• On the 9th, Jimmy and the Zac Brown Band tape an episode of CMT Crossroads in Nashville
• We reported on the 13th that Buffett had acquired two new airplanes
• On the 17th, we reported that an aviation departure procedure out of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida had been named after Jimmy
• We report on the 18th that a job listing for a General Manager at a Margaritaville location in Nashville had been posted
• On Christmas Day, Jimmy celebrated his 63rd birthday

First announced in 2007, the Margaritaville Casino project in Biloxi has been on hold for over a year and now Harrah’s Entertainment is saying they may need partners to complete the construction:

Harrah’s Entertainment may need financial partners if it wants to build the Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi with the size and scope originally intended, says a company official.

R. Scott Barber, Harrah’s mid-South regional president, tells The Sun Herald that while Harrah’s is exploring a number of opportunities, there was nothing new to report.

Barber was in Biloxi for Friday’s meeting of the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

Original plans called for a $700 million resort with 798 rooms, a full-service spa, a pool/deck area with cabanas, bar and tropical landscaping, all on 46 acres of land south of U. S. Highway 90.

In June the deal was nixed to transform Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City into a Margaritaville themed casino resort and now Coastal Development LLC is suing Trump Entertainment Resorts:

Donald Trump, who has carefully cultivated an image for quality and opulence, ran at least one of his casino properties like a fleabag hotel.

Then, he tried to unloaded it on one of his protégés and singer Jimmy Buffett, even though it needed a reported $50 million in repairs to bring it up to standard.

The assertions are contained in a lawsuit filed as part of bankruptcy proceedings involving Trump’s Atlantic City casinos. Trump, who was ousted when the properties fell into bankruptcy under a heavy debt load, is attempting regain control of his casino empire.

But the company that was slated to buy the Trump Marina Hotel Casino, claims in the $17 million lawsuit that holding company Trump Entertainment Resorts essentially slummed the property by withholding maintenance and repairs when Trump was in charge. Instead of fixing leaky windows and skylights, for example, the casino put plants underneath them to catch the drips.

The suit also claims Trump Entertainment deliberately tried to hid its financial condition to try to salvage the deal. Coastal agreed to pay $316 million for the casino, and intended to partner with singer Buffett to take advantage of the singer’s popular “Margaritaville” restaurants and bars.

“Unbeknownst to the Coastal parties, the defendants intended to strip the casino of its valuable customers and key personnel, destroy its image with its potential and current patrons, and let the casino fall into a complete state of disrepair such that no lender would ever finance its purchase,” the lawsuit states.

Although Trump Entertainment promised to make repairs, little, if any, of the promised work was done. Beside leaking winds, the casino had inoperable air conditioning units; wind and weather damage at the building’s Crystal Tower, and kitchen equipment that has been removed, court papers state.

Read the full article here.

Trump Entertainment Resorts has terminated the agreement with Coastal Development to buy the Trump Marina and Casino and turn it into a Margaritaville-themed casino:

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. decided today to terminate its purchase agreement with Coastal Development L.L.C. of New York to acquire the Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City.

The deadline to complete the deal was Thursday. When that date came and went, the two sides said they would continuing talking.

That apparently changed today.

“We are disappointed with Trump Entertainment Resort Inc.’s letter today to terminate our agreement to acquire the Trump Marina Hotel and Casino,” said a statement released by Coastal Marina L.L.C., an affiliate of Coastal Development, about 4 p.m. “It had been our hope to continue a dialogue with Trump Entertainment about modifying the agreement to reflect current economic realities, but regrettably they chose instead to send this letter. We remain committed to Atlantic City as the perfect market for a Margaritaville project.”