Parrotheads rejoice: Jimmy Buffett inches closer to casino license

Reporting from Las Vegas —  Jimmy Buffett’s lyrics have always paired well with the bottoms-up spirit of the Las Vegas Strip. Now the singer and entrepreneur is one step away from joining the ranks of the town’s colorful casino moguls.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday recommended that Buffett’s company, Margaritaville Holdings, be granted a gambling license, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. That would allow the company to share in the revenue of the Flamingo hotel’s Margaritaville casino, which has 220 slot machines and a bar called -- what else? -- “5 o’Clock Somewhere.”

The regulatory hearing was a jovial affair, as might be expected for someone whose fans are known as Parrotheads. When Chairman Mark Lipparelli asked an attorney to step aside so Buffett could speak, Lipparelli made reference to a Buffett song.

“I can’t resist the pun. Fins to the left, fins to the right,” he said, according to the Review-Journal.

The regulators questioned the singer about some of his more unusual public escapades, though the tone of the discussion remained light-hearted. French authorities once detained Buffett on suspicion of carrying the club drug Ecstasy, even though his pills were actually heart medication. And, in 1996, the Jamaican military mistook Buffett’s airplane for that of a drug smuggler.

“They fired 115 times and only hit us twice,” Buffett told the board, which appeared satisfied with his explanation.

The Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled to make the final ruling on Buffett’s application later this month.

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