LONG BEACH : Entrepreneur Seeks to Take Queen Mary to Mississippi

A Nevada entrepreneur says he wants to move the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner from its berth in Long Beach to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast as the centerpiece of a convention-casino development he wants to build.

Don Laughlin has a lease agreement with the Port of Gulfport, Miss. He was in search of a vessel large enough to accommodate a gaming resort when he learned that the 1,018-foot Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach and run by Disney Corp., is on the auction block.

“We think the only way this ship can turn a profit is to include gaming as part of its overall tourist operation,” said Laughlin’s son, Danny. “The ship needs $27 million in onetime maintenance work and will use nearly $5 million annually for maintenance--you can’t cover those operating costs with gift ships and restaurants alone,” the younger Laughlin said.