A casino in Slidell, or anywhere in St. Tammany Parish, for that matter?
It could be the worst idea ever for the wonderful quality of life that has been developed on the North Shore. And we urge voters this Saturday, Dec. 11, to go to the polls and send a strong message to all casino companies by voting “No.”
For all the financial promises from the California-based gaming company known as Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), as well as a handful of public officials who got behind the project from the outset, the idea of a casino in Slidell has been revealed to be far less than what has been touted.
When the casino was first announced in February of 2021 there was much more excitement about the “grand economic development opportunities” that P2E could bring with an initially, $250 million casino.
As months went by, and when astute Slidell and St. Tammany economists and business leaders began to dig deeper into the details, it became clear this project will likely do only one thing—fatten the wallets of P2E owners in California.
And that certainly means the millions of dollars that have been promised for St. Tammany and Slidell will probably never reach the levels they have predicted.
Simply put, we do not need Slidell or St. Tammany Parish to become the next big casino center. Consider what life is all about now? In the words of Sheriff Randy Smith, “we should not gamble with the future of our parish.”
And to bring a casino, possibly the first of others, into the parish is positively gambling with the life we now have here. Why in the world would we do that when anyone can find all the gambling and casinos they want less than an hour away—in either direction?
Three key concerns are the reason this casino can’t be bet on: Crime, hurting our small businesses, and negatively affecting the city of Slidell with a severe drop in sales tax revenue.
Anyone who believes there won’t be some crime issues to deal with from this casino is living with their head in the sand. Read the special insert in today’s Slidell Independent where we report several stories of crime problems, some quite serious, from criminals who go to casinos looking for easy money.
Consider the idea that 10 restaurants at the proposed P2E casino would absolutely take substantial revenue away from Slidell’s local restaurants and bars. And realize that when local businesses are losing money, so is the city of Slidell tax base.
There are more reasons to not bring a casino to Slidell, or anywhere in St. Tammany Parish. Those are just three and they are easily enough to vote “no.”
This Saturday, Dec. 11 may be the most important vote St. Tammany voters have ever faced. We urge you to vote “no” on this casino proposal, and more than anything, do not expect others to end this potential nightmare. Make sure to exercise your right to vote and join us in defeating this incredibly bad economic development idea.