The Louisiana Supreme Court recently ruled a referendum on Peninsula Pacific Entertainment’s (P2E) proposed $325 million Camellia Bay casino resort near Slidell in St. Tammany Parish can go forward on December 11.
The casino question will be the only item on the ballot. St. Tammany voters approved fantasy sports betting in 2018 legalizing sports betting in 2020; both issues passed with two-thirds voter support. However, parish voters banned casino gambling in 1996. The upcoming referendum could overturn that.
Slidell Pastor John Raymond and attorney Charles Branton had challenged the election’s constitutionality, stating parish residents must first approve casino gambling before voting on a specific location. In October, District Judge John Keller determined the lawsuit was premature and that plaintiffs failed to show they would suffer irreparable harm if the election was held as scheduled. But the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal reversed Keller’s ruling earlier this month, stating a trial on the merits should be held prior to the election. The St. Tammany Parish government, which already had put the referendum on the ballot, then asked the Supreme Court to vacate the First Circuit ruling.
Meanwhile, both sides in the casino battle are spending an estimated $3.5 million on flyers, billboards, signs, broadcast advertising and social media to persuade voters how to vote. Ronnie Jones, former Louisiana Gaming Control Board chairman, said, “Nothing about what I see happening in the St. Tammany area surprises me. If you look at any other state, there is always a turbulent war between developers and citizens opposed to gambling for a variety of reasons.”
P2E and casino supporters said the casino, to be located at the foot of the Interstate 10 twin spans near Slidell, will bring jobs, tax revenue and new entertainment options to the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. The casino’s political committee, the Northshore Wins, filed a campaign finance report on November 12 indicating contributions of $2.3 million from August 26 through November 1 and expenditures of just over $1 million, with $1.3 million on hand.
P2E also made a $100,000 donation to a family oriented sports complex and pledged to give another $35 million to that project if the casino passes. In addition, P2E gave $1 million to Louisiana Coastal Relief and Recovery for meals and other relief following Hurricane Ida. Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has endorsed the casino; one of its seven restaurants would be a steakhouse created by Brees and celebrity chef John Folse.
Casino opponents include St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith, Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal and Pearl River Police Chief Jack Sessions, who all warned the casino will lead increased crime. Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the mayors of Slidell, Mandeville and Madisonville plus other local officials also have announced opposition and local restaurant and small business owners have expressed concerns.
Scott Wilfong, chairman of the nonprofit Watchdog PAC, headquartered in Baton Rouge, the group has spent more than $500,000, including a recent $400,000 media buy, and expects it will spend about $1 million. Wilfong said most of the money has been raised from small donations from individuals and businesses or groups. “I don’t think we have casinos” as donors, he said.
St. Tammany business owner Chris Jean also has formed another nonprofit, Stand Up St. Tammany. He said the group is leading a grassroots effort focused on businesses, not church groups. He said he launched the effort with his own money and donations from several restaurateurs who all agree the casino will harm the economy. About 500 businesses have joined in, Jean said. However, he acknowledged the group cannot compete with P2E. “We’ll be lucky if we spend a couple of hundred thousand. But people against it are going to vote,” Jean said.
For quite a while, P2E has intimated that Mississippi casinos are involved in the fight against Camellia Bay to protect their own interests. Dan Lee, whose company owns the Silver Slipper in nearby Waveland, said he has made contributions but said they were small. “Peninsula would like to blame us. We did do polling and decided we didn’t need to spend much money,” Lee said.
Ed Chervenak, a political science professor at the University of New Orleans, said “For a race like this, it’s all going to be turnout, who can get the pro or con voters to the polls.” He noted having only one item on the ballot will further decrease turnout. “What we’re witnessing is a battle for air time. But good ground game defeats air time every time,” Chervenak said.
