After St. Tammany voters reject casino proposal, what happens next? Here are the options – The Advocate

Drew Brees may have been all-in for locating a casino near Slidell, but the St. Tammany Parish voters were not at least the ones who participated in Saturdays referendum. Casino owners now have 60 days to decide whether to reopen their facility in Bossier City or surrender their license to the state.

Back in September, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board inserted the 60-day provision into the resolution allowing, if approved by parish voters, Pacific Peninsula Entertainment, called P2E, to move its license located in Bossier City to Lake Pontchartrain and to build a $329.2 million casino resort at the first exit off the Interstate 10 Twin Bridge. The resolution failed Saturday: 37,664 voted no and 22,031 voted yes, or 63% to 37%.

We want to put this license back into commerce, said Ronnie Johns, chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, which regulates the states 20 licenses for casinos in riverboats, at racetracks or on land.

Drew Brees encouraged St. Tammany residents to vote "yes" in December, when they will decide whether to allow Pacific Peninsula Entertainment

Johns added that hes giving the owners a few days to get their thoughts together. But the resolution started the clock on Sunday and the Board is meeting Thursday at the State Capitol.

Our license is a very valuable asset to both us and the state as a whole, and we look forward to working with the Gaming Control Board to examine the paths forward that are best for everyone involved, P2E spokesperson Jay Connaughton said Tuesday. There are multiple potential directions, the decision of what next is complicated and will likely take some time to dive into all the details and implications. Our goal is to utilize it to do good for everyone involved.

A few months ago when addressing what would happen if they lost, Pacific Peninsula Entertainments leader seemed willing to reopen Diamond Jacks Casino in Bossier City. We have explored and will continue to explore the opportunity to redevelop what exists there in the Diamond Jacks into a land-based facility and that is something wed move forward with, said Brent Stevens, P2Es founder and chair told the Gaming Control Board on Sept. 8.

Founded in 1999, the privately owned company, based in Richmond, Va., invests in and controls 14 regionally based casinos and six hotels around the country. The company bought controlling interest in Evangeline Downs, the storied thoroughbred horse track near Lafayette, and the Amelia Belle Casino, just south of U.S. Hwy. 90 in St. Mary Parish. In 2016, P2E bought Diamond Jacks riverboat casino out of bankruptcy.

Gambling regulators authorized moving a casino license from Bossier City to Slidell.

The Bossier facility had among the lowest revenues in the state. A Gaming Control Board study found that the Shreveport-Bossier City market was down 21 percent since 2007 due to competition from Oklahoma tribal casinos for Dallas-Fort Worth-area patrons. The study recommended moving a casino from northwest Louisiana to the more populous southeastern part of the state.

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In 2018, Stevens tried to move the license to land adjacent to the Tangipahoa River just south of Interstate 12. But the bill calling for the referendum failed to clear the Senate.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic caused most businesses, including casinos, to suspend operations in March 2020 as a way to mitigate the spread of the highly contagious and often deadly virus.

P2E permanently shut down Diamond Jacks within hours of Gov. John Bel Edwards May 2020 order reopening casinos after the pandemic. About 350 employees were laid off, kitchen equipment, televisions and other assets were sold and a chain link fence was erected around property on the Red River.

Gaming Control Board resolution of 09/08/2021 allowing resolution on St. Tammany casino

The company, however, didnt inform the Gaming Control Board or the Louisiana State Police of its plans, said Ronnie Jones, who was chair of the board at the time. Jones said Tuesday he had considered taking legal action against P2E and had asked the Attorney General for an opinion on the matter. The Attorney General issued an opinion saying the license belongs to the state and casino must operate under the conditions set by the state.

By 2021, the company found allies in St. Tammany Parish and was able to secure the necessary legislation calling for a referendum. The Gaming Control board inserted into the resolution, the wording: or in the event of the negative vote of the majority of the voters in St. Tammany Parish in the local option election to be conducted on Nov. 13, 2021, to recommence gaming operations upon the vessel Mary Margaret within 60 days of the election.

Promoters of casino gambling on the western approach to the Mississippi Gulf Coast were surprised by ferocity of the anti-gambling vote in St. Tammany Parish. The company reported $5 million in contributions for the referendum campaign, bought land for $14 million, gave $100,000 for initial planning of a youth sports center, and donated $1 million for Hurricane Ida relief.

Thirty-two percent of conservative St. Tammanys 185,957 registered voters participated in Saturdays referendum and 63% of those voters said no. Only 15 of the parishs 170 precincts favored gambling.

Comprehensive Gaming Industry Analysis

A controversial proposal to move a casino boat to Slidell cleared its first hurdle Monday when a Senate committee chairman, whose wife is a lo

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After St. Tammany voters reject casino proposal, what happens next? Here are the options - The Advocate