St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana residents came out in force December 11 to vote on a single issue: to move one casino license from Bossier City to the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain near Slidell. In early returns Saturday night, 63 percent of voters were against the $325 million project, known as Camellia Bay Casino and Resort, proposed by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E).
News website NOLA.com said the outcome as “followed a high-temperature and costly battle for votes between the California-based developer and an alliance of churches, local businesses and some local elected officials.”
A deluge of print, broadcast, social media and online ads were sent out to influence potential voters leading up to the referendum. P2E spent more than $3.6 million and had more than $1.4 million on hand as of November 21, according to the campaign finance reports of its political action committee, Northshore Wins.
“Both sides waged very strategic campaigns, but it’s hard to change people’s minds once they’ve made up their minds,” WWL-TV political analyst Clancy Dubos said.
Misinformation and rumors were widespread. For example, social media posts warned if the referendum passed, dozens of casinos would be allowed on Lake Ponchartrain. However, Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns said there are a limited number of riverboat casino licenses in the state that cannot be moved unless parish residents approve it in a referendum. St. Tammany officials also denied rumors of a second casino. St. Tammany Parish Councilman Mike Cooper and Council Chair Mike Lorino said the rumors were “baloney” and called a news conference to counter the rumors about more casinos.
An anti-casino pamphlet sent to Slidell-area homes claimed the casino would cause the St. Tammany Parish school board to lose sales tax revenue, because the casino would drain local residents’ disposable income. In addition, an ad alleged the $180 million in projected annual revenue from the casino actually would come out of the local economy. Opponents, including local law enforcement, also expressed concerns over increased traffic and the potential for crime.
Supporters argued St. Tammany has lost millions of dollars in potential tax revenue to nearby casinos in Mississippi. Chris Masingill, director of the pro-casino St. Tammany Corp. said the claims were “propaganda meant to create additional disinformation and confusion.” He stated the pamphlet does not take into account the money that would stay in Louisiana and not be spent at Mississippi casinos; also, he said less than half of the money spent at the casino would come from local visitors; and, the casino would spend money locally on food, beverages and supplies.
The proposed project would have included a 250-room hotel, convention space, and outdoor amphitheater, a “lazy river” feature and upgrades to an adjacent marina.
P2E also was the target of numerous allegations. The company purchased DiamondJacks Casino in 2015 as the casino was going through a second bankruptcy. Chief Executive Officer Brent Stevens said in April state officials asked P2E to keep the property permanently closed “to allow for the rest of the market participants to enjoy whatever demand there may be for gaming in the post-Covid-19 environment.” P2E closed the casino in October 2020, after it had been closed for several months due to the pandemic.
However, Mike Noel, Louisiana Gaming Control Board chairman at the time, said the state never instructed the company to keep DiamondJacks closed. P2E previously tried to move its license to Tangipahoa Parish, so it wasn’t surprising it wanted to relocate to a less competitive market, Noel said.
Polls showed that the parish was split from east to west, depending on where voters lived. Those closer to the casino site were generally against it. Voters further away from the site were largely for it.
An analysis commissioned by St. Tammany Corp. projected the project would generate $78.3 million in salaries, create 1,000 direct permanent jobs, and produce more than $7 million annually in tax revenue plus property taxes. P2E has pledged to share 5 percent of revenue.
Following the vote, Slidell Pastor John Raymond was “elated” at the results. “This wasn’t a good thing for Slidell and now with this victory it’s going to keep this stuff away for years to come.”
P2E spokesman Jay Connaughton said the company was “disappointed in the outcome,” but “grateful for all the relationships that were created and the time that the community invested in Camellia Bay.”
Paradoxically, though the parish rejected both casino gaming and video poker 25 years ago, in 2020 a referendum on sports betting passed with 67 percent of the vote, winning in every voting precinct.
