Jimmy Buffett was in Las Vegas Wednesday morning to appear before the Nevada Gaming Control Board. At stake was licensing to share revenue with Caesars Entertainment for his newly opened Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo.

It was an interesting event as Buffett told stories of his Margaritaville brand and answered questions about two drug-related incidents in his past: the Jamaica Mistaica incident and the time French authorities detained him, mistakenly believing he had ecstasy.

Buffett’s business partners and managers also answered questions. Long-time Coral Reefer Michael Utley was questioned as well.

The Las Vegas Review Journal and Vegasinc.com both have good articles on the hearing.

The state Gaming Control Board questioned Buffett for about 15 minutes and approved its recommendation in less than an hour. The matter will be considered for final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission on March 22.

During the hearing, at which Buffett and his associates told several stories about his successes with the Margaritaville brand. He said he became interested in the restaurant business when his friend, superstar chef Emeril Lagasse, told him that his best nights at his MGM Grand restaurant occurred when Buffett was performing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Buffett said he approached MGM about opening a restaurant, but the company went with an Irish pub concept instead. That led Buffett to inquire with Harrah‚s Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment, and the Margaritaville restaurant was born.

“I occasionally wonder about the guy (at MGM) who made that decision and where he‚s working now,” Buffett said.

The Margaritaville restaurant opened at the Flamingo in 2003 and the casino was added in 2011.

Vegasinc also has a photo gallery with several photos from the hearing.

We’ve received many emails from people looking for employment at the Biloxi Margaritaville Casino, and the location is finally starting to hire:

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant Biloxi will hold job fairs the next two Mondays as it prepares to fill 1,000 jobs.

The job fairs are Monday and March 12 from noon to 6 p.m. at The Dock restaurant in Gulfport.

The resort is expected to open the week of May 20.

Cynthia Simms, a casino spokeswoman, says jobs are available in security, marketing, engineering, information technology, casino positions and food and beverage. She says applicants must be at least 21

Checkout this video report from today’s groundbreaking in Bossier City, LA.

Jimmy Buffett was in Bossier City, Louisiana this morning to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for his Margaritaville Resort Casino.

Developers of the Margaritaville Resort Casino officially broke ground on their $197 million project today during a special ceremony that included an appearance from Jimmy Buffett.

Mayor Lorenz “Lo” Walker, city councilmen, Bossier police jurors, representatives of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, as well as other area officials were in attendance.

Construction will begin immediately on the $197 million casino and hotel, which is targeted to open in June 2013. Margaritaville Resort Casino is projected to provide more than 1,200 jobs and more than $12 million in local tax revenue to support jobs for first-responders and educators.

The casino would feature a 30,000-square-foot, single-level gaming floor, the famous “It’s 5’OClock Somewhere” bar, an 18-story hotel with 396 rooms, a 900-seat entertainment venue, spa and fitness center, outdoor pool deck and dining area, and four dining options, including the trademark Margaritaville Restaurant.

View more photos of the groundbreaking here.

Construction is moving along on the Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi, and workers recently celebrated the “topping out”:

This first party at Margaritaville was marked with barbecue and a pine tree, a traditional symbol when a building is topped out — usually when the highest beam is put in place. That happened weeks ago, but the crews, who also were celebrating no serious injuries on the job, kept working and focused on a May completion. The resort will open the week of May 20.

Bob Kelly of Innovation Project Development in Ocean Springs, the owners’ representative, said 200 to 300 trades workers are on the job at any time and most are local. Roy Anderson Corp. of Gulfport is general contractor and the three major subcontractors are Aladdin Construction of Biloxi, Haynes Electric of Gulfport and MCC Group from New Orleans. Kelly said the company working on the volcano for Margaritaville is from Wisconsin, but hired a local crew.

Margaritaville Biloxi CEO Tom Brosig said a core staff of about 25 people are preparing for the casino opening. “I think the intense hiring will start in April,” he said.

In the center of the building is a 28,000-square-foot casino that will have 821 slot machines and 18 table games. A 5 o’clock Somewhere bar will open to both the casino and the 900-seat entertainment venue that will double as overflow space for the buffet. Balconies, which can be used for meetings and parties, rim three sides of the entertainment space.

Read the full article here and view a photo gallery here.