Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said last week that he supports a casino in his home parish of Tangipahoa and will vote for it if it’s put to a vote of local residents.
Legislation that could ultimately place such a measure before the parish is pending in the legislation: Senate Bill 417. The measure would authorize Peninsula Pacific to move its riverboat license for Diamond Jacks Casino and Hotel in Bossier City to a spot along the Tangipahoa River, near where Interstate 12 and Highway 445 meet.
Since this action would not increase the number of casinos in the state, current at 16, advocates point out that no new license is required, just the permission of the residents.
Several parish officials have already testified before lawmakers in support of the measure, including eight mayors.
Peninsula Pacific considers the parish to be underserved when it comes to gaming. Currently a large number of people traveling to casinos in other parts of the state travel through the parish. Residents in the parish have in the past shown themselves receptive to gaming operations.
Meanwhile, a bill introduced in the Louisiana Legislature would strip casinos of their right to eject advantage players. House Bill 152, which has cleared committee and is headed to the floor or the state House, would prevent casinos from ejecting gamblers simply because they are too skilled, or too lucky, as long as the players aren’t breaking any laws.
“I just don’t think they should have such wide latitude to exclude people based on skill level or because they won,
said Rep. Walt Leger III, a New Orleans Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, in an interview with The Advocate. “Anybody who is cheating or acting disruptively or doing anything unlawful would still be excluded; I just don’t want them to be excluded because of skill level.”
Currently, state law allows casinos to eject customers if their “presence would be adverse to the interests of Louisiana or gaming operations.” Leger’s bill seeks to separate advantage play from disruptive behavior in defining what that requirement in the law means. HB152 further would add to law that “a person may not be excluded from a gaming establishment operated by a licensee or the casino operator for reasons based solely on the skill level of the person.”
