Louisiana Casino Vote Set for Saturday, Amid Heated Campaigning
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Voters in St. Tammany Parish will decide on Saturday whether to approve a waterfront casino near Slidell. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment wants to build a $325 million resort northeast of New Orleans. The resort would open on Lake Pontchartrain’s north shore by November 2023.
Supporters say the resort will add $9 million in tax revenue to local governments and employ thousands of workers at an average salary of $45,000 a year. Opponents question the revenue projections and say a casino will invite crime, gambling addiction and other social problems.
P2E has applied to transfer its casino license from the shuttered DiamondJacks riverboat casino in Bossier City to St. Tammany Parish pending approval from voters on Saturday. If the vote fails, P2e will have 60 days to reopen the casino. Louisiana has 20 commercial gaming license holders, including one for the proposed project in St., Tammerville and another assigned to a Lake Charles riverboats casino not currently in operation.
Louisiana legalized sports betting in 55 of 64 parishes last year. 13 on-site casino sportsbooks have opened at state-regulated casinos in Louisiana. Mobile sportsbook is expected to begin shortly after the first of the year, according to Johns.
