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December 24, 2014 • Vol. XXVI • No. 26 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
Inside
Mississippi Welcomes $290M Casino By Cindy Riley
Tentatively scheduled to open New Year’s Eve 2015, the $290 million Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville will become the 13th casino on the Mississippi coast. Backers are gambling the project will stand out in an already crowded field. “The market generally consists of pre-Katrina projects more than ten years old,” said Randall Fine, managing director of The Fine Point Group, which oversees public relations for the property. “While substantial renovation and expansion has taken place, the market is ripe for its first masterplanned, land-based facility. We believe the Mississippi Gulf Coast market has great potential as our economy and tourism industries improve. We think that with both our resort and amenity product, we will help give new reasons for more people to come to the Gulf Coast.” Included in the plans is a 60,000-sq.ft. (5,574 sq m) casino, along with a hotel, a miniature golf course, three restaurants and an outdoor food truck pavilion. “The community is very excited about this addition to their city,” Fine said. “People have been hoping for a casino in their town for over twenty years. We’ve had positive feedback from many civic organizations, church groups, the Roy Anderson Corp photo mayor and other city officials. We believe this is something The site slopes up and away from the bay separating D’Iberville from Biloxi, the entire city will be very proud of.”
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Blanchard Aims to See Small Businesses Succeed…8
Carolina CAT Continues a Tradition…12
see CASINO page 38
challenging crews to keep silt and sediment from leaving the site and entering the bay.
Industry Spending Has Far-Reaching Benefits Pinnacle Serves Lunch to Edwards Inc. …40
Table of Contents ................4 Mini & Compact Equipment Section ..........................45-65 Parts Section ................68-69
Two-thirds of the economic benefits and jobs created by federal highway and transit investment occur in non-construction sectors, according to a new analysis from IHS Inc., a leading global source of
critical information and insight. The study also finds that every dollar invested through the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) in state highway, bridge and public transit infrastructure programs returns 74
cents in tax revenue. The report, “Transportation Infrastructure Investment: Macroeconomic and Industry Contribution of Federal Highway and Mass Transit Program,”
reveals that 70 percent of the economic benefits, or value-added, of federal HTF investments in transportation improvements occur in non-construction sectors of the see IHS page 86
Congress Delivers Early Holiday Tax Present
Paving Section ..............71-81 Auction Section ............86-96 Business Calendar ............96 Advertisers Index ..............98
The U.S. House of Representatives passed late Wednesday, Dec. 3, and the Senate approved Dec. 16 the Tax Increase Prevention Act. Among the 50 expired tax breaks the bill extends is a reinstatement of the 50 percent depreciation bonus for 2014 and an increase of the Section 179 expensing levels this year to
$500,000 with a $2 million phase-out cap. Both of these tax breaks expired Dec. 31, 2013. At press time, the president was expected to sign the bill. In addition to affecting equipment purchases made in 2014 retroactively, this bill would in effect create a window for last-minute purchases made prior to Dec. 31, 2014, to be
included. Visit www.constructionequipmentguide.com and AED’s www.http://depreciationbonus.org/ for more information. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG