Crime study stuns casino opposition
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – One vocal critic of a proposed casino for Slidell reacted to a so-called “independent” study on the resort by stating to local residents, “you should feel completely insulted, as it’s clear as day just how dumb some St. Tammany leaders think you are.”
Slidell businessman Chris Jean, founder of the opposition business group Stand Up St. Tammany, took it one step further with several comments:
“How can Convergence Strategy Group be unbiased when they have done over 400 casino studies, including one for P2E already?”
“How can they be independent when most of their business is related to casinos?”
“Are we to believe their 400 casino-related studies are not industry influenced?”
“How can the company hired to do an independent study be independent when the results of that study affect the future revenues of St. Tammany Corp? (the biggest supporter of the casino as the parish economic development agency).”
“Are the smart, intelligent and educated residents of this community really supposed to believe (from the study) that crime will go down when you bring a casino into a residential neighborhood?”
The shock from casino critics continued when Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany (CCST) President Rick Franzo reacted to the crime study by saying “anyone who believes that crime will not increase with a low-end casino in a non-destination city, with such a close proximity to one of the highest crime zones in America, is either foolish or lives with their head buried in the sand.”
Convergence Strategy Group (CSG) is the company that Slidell resident Chandler Goltz commented on, along with Jean and Franzo. The so-called “independent” study was commissioned by St. Tammany Corporation for $65,000 and has come back with slowly released phases which continue to pile on with contentions of one glowing result after another.
The casino is proposed by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) for the Oak Harbor exit off I-10, planning a $325 million resort and entertainment complex. Slidell and St. Tammany have been promised 5 percent of the company’s net gaming revenue each year, plus a $35 million multi-use sports complex will be built for Slidell.
While the endless positive information on the casino released by Convergence earlier brought initial criticism and questions about the independence of the firm, it was the phase released this week on Public Safety that literally ignited Jean’s reaction to the entire casino study. Convergence claimed that out of seven casino communities they studied, crime actually declined after the casino was built. Even if the statistics are true for the communities referenced, the Convergence report states the information in a way that suggests casinos do not bring added crime.
That was in direct opposition to a study Jean produced from the University of Illinois Law Review, covering 10 years of research that unequivocally stated crime increases in any region near a casino.
“Convergence Strategy Group and St. Tammany Corp will do and say anything to get this casino deposited in the laps of Slidell residents,” Jean said. “How convenient that Convergence says the casino will keep us safe and crime will actually go down 10 to 25 percent, according to them.
“WOW! This implies that casinos are the answer to every city’s crime problem. Just build a casino and your city will automatically see crime go down. Thank you P2E….you have solved the nation’s crime issue,” he added.
Jean pointed to the two top police officials in the eastern St. Tammany area who have already gone on record as being against the casino for the simple reason they see crime increasing, as the Illinois University report indicates.
“I guess St. Tammany Corp and the Convergence people believe that Sheriff Randy Smith and Slidell Chief Randy Fandal are lying,” Jean said. “Should we believe the law enforcement officers that we elected to protect us, or P2E, Convergence and St. Tammany Corp—all who have a vested financial stake in the outcome of this casino?”
“These companies are going to make millions on this vote and they are willing to say and do anything to try and sway the outcome in their favor. And remember, once the vote happens there will be NOTHING holding them accountable for anything they say now,” Jean remarked.
Franzo said the study results are not a surprise when considering the biggest casino supporter, St. Tammany Corporation, paid for the study.
“Any company that pays for a study is going to get the results they want. It happens all over the place and St. Tammany Corporation knew exactly what they would get when they paid Convergence $65,000,” Franzo said. “I just hope the residents in the parish realize this is fluff, and you can’t believe anything about this study.
“But the way they reported on crime—that’s really the most shocking thing to tell our residents that crime won’t increase, and could even decrease,” he added.
St. Tammany Corporation CEO Chris Masingill has been the leader of the casino push from day one, working behind the scenes with the company for over a year-and-a-half before bringing it to the public. At that point, however, there was no public input into pursuing the casino deal, but rather, the proposal went straight to the Louisiana Legislature to pass a constitutionally questioned bill that now allows the public to vote on the matter.
However, the vote set for Dec. 11 is allowing all parish residents to decide about the casino only for Slidell, something that brought three lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the vote.
Stand Up St. Tammany was founded in early summer by Jean and now has over 400 businesses signed on to fight the casino, while there are church groups and dozens of public officials who have also come out publicly against the casino. The unexpected opposition to the casino is what led Masingill to seek the study many months after P2E first announced its plans, he acknowledged.
Masingill has called the opposition effort by Stand Up St. Tammany “a campaign of distortion,” which led to the agreement for Convergence to come up with a new study—something that was long after ST Corp did their own research.
Jean agrees that his organization, plus CCST and others are the reason the casino backers are getting nervous, adding that CCST easily has the largest online following of any group in the parish.