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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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The Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia is laying off 570 non-Tribal employees and closing the Golden Moon Casino on weekdays. The Neshoba Democrat reports that the Golden Moon has been a financial strain on the resort, which is managed by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, since it opened in 2002. The economic recession hitting the state and the entire country has not helped, either.