St Tammany Parish voters reject $325 million Louisiana casino proposition
In the southern American state of Louisiana and a proposal that would have noticed casino operator Peninsula Pacific Entertainment bring a gambling-friendly improvement to St Tammany Parish has reportedly been soundly defeated.
According to a Saturday report from the Louisiana Illuminator, the Los Angeles-headquartered firm had been hoping to be provided permission to transfer the license for its shuttered DiamondJacks Casino Hotel riverboat venue in Bossier City some 300 miles southeast to a new facility near the little coastal community of Slidell. This fresh $325 million home was to have encompassed an about 27,000 sq ft casino providing roughly 800 slots and some 25 gaming tables as effectively as an outside and indoor events center, a fishing dock and a farmers’ industry buffet.
Obligatory okay:
Even so, prior to this strategy could be place into practice and Peninsula Pacific Entertainment was reportedly needed to obtain consent from the neighborhood population by indicates of a specific referendum. The operator purportedly subsequently went on a charm offensive in an try to convince the electorate of St Tammany Parish that its project for a poorly served marketplace would outcome in financial regeneration due to the fact that gamblers could come from as far afield as southern Alabama to appreciate some gambling action.
Succinct slap:
Nevertheless, the source reported that St Tammany Parish voters rejected the casino referendum on Saturday by a 26-point margin as turnout hit a larger-than-anticipated 30% with 59,695 votes becoming cast. This rebuff purportedly came right after several nearby officials including the mayor and police chief for Slidell each joined with nearby faith-primarily based organizations to express their opposition to the envisioned project owing to elevated crime, human trafficking and issue gambling concerns.
Historical hostility:
The Louisiana Illuminator reported that the electorate of St 
Tammany Parish voted against a measure in 1996 that would have legalized casino gambling and video poker whilst opponents of the program from Peninsula Pacific Entertainment lodged a pair of lawsuits in the summer season that had been seeking to block the referendum altogether. There was additionally a petition submitted to the Louisiana Gaming Board from regional critics Chandler and Jason Goltz in July that called on the regulator to dismiss the whole proposition on grounds that the operator’s riverboat gaming license was not transferrable.
Detractor delight:
Local pastor John Raymond led one of the anti-casino campaigns and he reportedly told The Instances-Picayune newspaper that he was ‘elated’ with the outcome of the referendum. The critic purportedly praised the efforts of regional companies who had come out against the proposed Slidell casino whilst rejecting claims that his efforts had been wholly funded by gambling-friendly establishments in the nearby state of Mississippi.
Raymond reportedly told The Times-Picayune…
“The voters believed the correct information and this will be a blessing for the parish for years to come.”
