In 1996, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana residents voted against video poker. The ballot question read, “Shall the operation of video draw poker devices be permitted within the parish?” According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, 36,500 voters said no—57 percent of the 64,000 votes cast. However, out of 112 precincts, 40 voted to allow video poker and some were split 50/50.
Some parishes, including Acadia, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion, also voted on allowing riverboat gambling. Only Iberia and Vermilion voted against it. In Calcasieu Parish, where Lake Charles is located, 68 percent of voters said yes to riverboat gaming and 54 percent to video poker. Today Lake Charles area has three riverboat casinos, which directed $42.3 million to local fees and property taxes in 2015-2016.
Former Lafayette Mayor-President Joey Durel said the parish voted no because, “We wanted Lafayette set apart and not dependent on money from gambling. We had visions of Las Vegas in our mind. We wanted Lafayette to be free of the dependence of making money off other people losing theirs. If we wanted to try to attract good, clean, high-paying jobs it wasn’t going to be through gambling.”
Durel acknowledged casinos may be appropriate in certain areas, such as tribal casinos and remote communities. “There have been some pockets of success when it comes to casinos,” he said. However, he stated he believes natural gas facilities, not casinos, led to growth in Lake Charles. “It’s more natural economic development,” he said.
In Carencro, Mayor Glenn Brasseaux said the vote against video poker in Lafayette “change people’s minds about gambling. Just drive to all the parish lines and see. It didn’t deter anything. It just made it a little bit harder,” he said. That’s because Evangeline Downs racetrack had to shut down its 100 video poker machines after the vote. Revenue from the machines had helped cover expenses such as the winner’s purse. Businesses that were allowed to have up to three video poker machines also were impacted.
Brasseaux said he believes the city would allow gaming if they could. “If it hadn’t been parish-wide and was for municipalities to vote, we would still have it,” he said.
The silver lining is, despite concerns over losing jobs at the racetrack, which moved to Opelousas, the Carencro track became Evangeline Training Center and now houses more horses than previously.
Lafayette Convention and visitors Commission President and Chief Executive Officer Ben Berthelot said certainly people visit the state’s casinos to gamble. “There is no question, particularly since Texas does not have gambling, that people are going to these places to gamble” and for entertainment. It also helps from a revenue standpoint, because the average daily rate at a nice casino property is going to be higher, which means more revenue coming back to the CVB to promote the area,” Berthelot said.
However, he’s not convinced casinos are the solution in Lafayette Parish, and he doesn’t expect the issue to appear on a ballot anytime soon. “I have not heard it come up one time in the last six years that I have been in this position. Not to mention, I’m not sure we have a body of water wide enough that would allow for that a riverboat casino to happen.”
Currently Louisiana has 15 riverboat gaming operations, including three each in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and the New Orleans area and six in Shreveport/Bossier city. This number does not include tribal casinos. The three Lake Charles riverboats represent about 50 percent of the economic impact of all riverboat casinos in the state, according to the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Also in Louisiana, there are four racinos and 1,737 locations offering more than 13,000 video poker machines. According to the Louisiana Casino Association, riverboat casinos in 2009 employed more than 15,000 people earning more than $25,000 in tips and salary, or $31,853 with full health care and benefits included.
