The Louisiana Legislature remains the best friend of Mississippi Casinos. The Cajun Solons just approved a thirty-year extension for Harrah's casino monopoly in New Orleans. The Morning Advocate reported:
Harrah’s monopoly license in New Orleans ends in 2024. The legislation will extend the license until 2054 and authorize Harrah’s to add restaurants and build a second hotel with limited meeting space.
In return, Harrah’s is pledging to invest $325 million, to build the new 340-room hotel and upgrade its existing facilities, and has agreed to pay tens of millions of additional dollars over 30 years to the state, which awards the license, and to the city, which owns the casino site.
Harrah’s says the bill will create 600 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs.
“Harrah’s wants to make significant economic development in New Orleans for non-gaming activities,” Smith, who handled the bill, told his colleagues on Tuesday.
HB544 will not allow Harrah’s to expand its 125,000 square feet of gambling space.
The bill’s swift passage this year marks a sharp departure from last year’s session. A year ago, the Harrah’s bill breezed through the House with the wind provided by its sponsor, Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia.
But Alario and other senators then raised questions about whether the casino company was offering enough to the state. Following Alario’s lead, the Senate demanded hundreds of millions of dollars more from Harrah’s than the House version, over the 30-year extension. Harrah’s balked, and the bill died... Rest of article.
Only one casino in New Orleans? To think Louisiana wonders why it remains mired in last place with Mississippi.
20 comments:
Shhhh Kingfish. Don't give them any ammunition.
I don't get it, there's casinos all over Lousiana, why are they granting an exclusive license in New Orleans?
People in Louisiana dodge their state casinos like the plague and go to Mississippi Gulf Coast casinos where they at least have a small chance to win. When Louisiana gangsters, corrupt local governments, and the best legislature money can buy get through taking their respective cuts there's nothing left to win. Mississippi's best friends!
Sounds like an airport authority.
These are the same lawmakers that side with big money that say you can own navigable & tidal waters and don't have to post it to have people arrested for fishing. They also allow big money to gate off waterways if you own both sides of the canal. Money talks in LA and this is further proof.
There's a great book on this very subject called: Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards.
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Bet-Bayou-Gambling-Louisiana/dp/0374108307
@1:46 PM - only if they take a junket to Paris first.
...or Sicily
If Mississippi could get a fraction of the investment that goes on in Louisiana we would be better off five fold.
Look how John Bell has brought the state back after Jindal bankrupted the state.
Louisiana is kicking Mississippi's ass in casino revenues paid to the state. In 2017, 20 casinos raked in $2.56 billion and paid $602.5 million to the state, while Mississippi's 28 casinos took in $2 billion and paid the state only $252.1 million. The Tunica and MS River casinos are crap (pun intended), so the coast is the only real "destination" for gamblers and others. Meanwhile, LA has excellent casino properties spread out in nice cities across the state on major interstates. So who's really the smarter state in this matter? $350 million more (likely annually) to the state coffers says Louisiana.
“Look how John Bell has brought the state back after Jindal bankrupted the state.”
You aren’t very familiar with the state of things in Louisiana, are you?
Regarding navigable privately constructed canals, it has always been the law of Louisiana since at least 1825, if not before, since statehood in 1812, that private canals are private property, navigable or not. In the history of Louisiana, the public has never had a right to access such canals. To the extent that public access has been permitted, it has always been at the sufferance of the landowner who owns the canal. They have always had the right to control access. It is however, a more recent occurrence that landowners have begun to restrict access. But the law has always provided that they have a right to control access. Artificial waterways are not public things, navigable or not. See Louisiana Civil Code Article 450. Since this has always been the law, the belief that it is a result of big money influence is ill-founded. In fact, it would likely be a violation of the U.S. and state constitutions to deprive landowners of the right to control such waterways as a prohibited taking absent just compensation.
The problem with Louisiana is LSU and their “fans”. GTH LSU.
@ 8:44 - I'm suddenly reminded of the entrepreneur who thought he owned the water near and around what used to be The Dock at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. Remember when he claimed he could have a cricket-fisherman arrested for fishing in 'his' water, even if that fisherman were in his own boat? Was Burwell the name?
But, I don't think Mississippi law mirrors that of Louisiana, quoted at 8:44.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Ok as a New Orleans native this is such a non story for 1 New Orleans is one of greatest tourist cities in this country but its not as large land mass wise as you might think to have casino's all over it nor do the citizens want that. The city can only handle 1 casino. Plus this bill does not prohibit casinos in other parts of LA. ie Treasure Chest in Kenner. Unlike the MS Gulf Coast Casino's will never be the big drawn to the metro New Orleans area because of various festivals, Conventions and Sporting Events that go on in the city year round
If Jim Hood can do half of what John Bell is doing with increases in road and education funding we would be in a much better place.
When you talk about Capital Investment by God they are averaging over $50 Billion a month since he came in to office.
8:44- I'm not talking about private canals, I understand that. We're talking huge sections of marsh here. And they can post it and run you off and the law is backing them. Basically they are claiming if it was land when the state incorporated, even though its eroded and under water, they can post it or put gates up and claim it as theirs. That would be like me owning land adjacent to the Rez where a section may run out into the lake and telling someone they cant fish there and putting up a gate.
KF, it's an interesting topic for both people that live there, and people with camps that fish down there.
7:26 and 2:05 Mississippi does have some very nice casino properties and the chances of winning on the slots seems to be better than Louisiana, but Mississippi is still Mississippi and most out of state tourists have a bad image of the place. If not for the good tax deal the casino investors would bypass Mississippi like everybody else. Louisiana is a hellhole in many respects, but it's national image is fun and culture, while Mississippi's is something else. The problem is...Mississippi is not concerned about changing it.
10:28 - You probably don't know that people in the casino industry shit their britches to buy up waterfront property as soon as the bill passed almost 30 years ago - Before they had a clue as to taxes.
The casino and video poker operations are for recreation, most people in Louisiana don't expect to get rich overnight, they go to work everyday.
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