Gaming License

    Yesterday was the last day for interested parties to apply for the fifteenth and final gaming license in Louisiana... the one vacated after the Sugarcane Bay project was scrapped.  As of 5PM Thursday evening, four different companies had applied.  Three of those four companies propose to put their resort right here in Lake Charles. First, there's William Trotter with St. Gabriel Downs, whose proposal is for a  Hard Rock Casino and Hotel on the Lake Charles Port Property.  Then, there's a familiar name... Dan Lee, the former CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment.  He's proposing a 400 million dollar project that would be right next door to L'Auberge du Lac and would be called "Mojito Pointe."  Next is Chester Jones with Tomorrow's Investors.  Not long after Pinnacle forfeited the license, Jones was in Baton Rouge lobbying for the rights to it.  And the last applicant is Penn National Gaming.  But unlike the rest, it wants to put the casino in the New Orleans area.  Now that the four applicants have their cards on the table, it could be as long as six months before the Gaming Control Board makes a decision.  But is Lake Charles big enough to handle another big casino? 

Comments

[Mom]

Hard Rock Casino and Hotel would be cool.

Dan Lee has always supported the LC area so; I would not be opposed to his idea "Mojito Pointe" and who better to compete with Pinnacle than their former CEO.

Did Tomorrow's Investors have a concrete plan or do they just want the license?

Penn National Gaming should be pitched to the curb... a casino in New Orleans does this community no good.

Yes, Lake Charles is big enough to handle another big casino. The point is to draw tourists and their money from outside our area...

[Buck]

Sounds good! But don't count you chickens before they hatch. I see a potental problem, Pinnacle Entertainment is a political power house in Louisiana. They have many Louisiana Politicians in their pocket along with the State Gaming Board. This is obvious because they have been allowed to use the system for their financial advantage for years. I believe this same system will be able to protect them from competition in the future.

[WAKE UP LAKE UPCHUCK]

In the Red : budget deficit , and I love this part ( The Mayor says they've come up with a "standstill budget" to deal with the problem, meaning no new programs and no new spending. Roach says, "We had several vacant positions and we went ahead and took the liberty at this time to go ahead and eliminate those positions)

Poverty In America : The poverty rate in America is now the highest it's been in 16 years! 14.3% of Americans are now considered poor. 44 million people in America... one in seven... were found to be poor last year.

New Casino Resort: only concern should be taking whatever steps are needed to insure the market grows in Lake Charles

School Board Budget: the whole topic makes me ill,,, I thought the Casino’s were suppose to help the schools….

This has been our topics for the week…. Nothing really on the news about Rita due to the fact none of us acted like a bunch of wild animals in a jungle…poor Cameron was washed away but still, they picked up and started over.

What is bad is that our only suck news station is ran by politics…the little souls they have, they have sold over politics…

Wake up people, news stations don’t tell the whole story, who care’s about the freakin fireman overtime. Whats wrong,, is it dippin in the money you can’t pocket later on.

We need a whole new crew to run our city,, people who actually give a crap on what is going on. Not some snortin loving pigs who only care for themselves.

[Harry Potter]

This is America Wake up.. (duh) Don't like it you can leave it....I have confidence and faith in most of our elected officials. i know some of them on a very personal level. They are for the most part trying to do the right thing against some very huge road blocks. People like you are part of the problem. What are you doing to be part of the solution. yep, that's waht I thought. Just a bitcher. Want to be part of the solution? Get involved so that you can at least talk about issues intelligently. It aint easy being a elected official. Most people who could do the job, want. Because they don't need the hassle. Run for office wake up. get the real facts. I vote for No
on the casino. I don't think we need another one. Not for economic reasons either. My no vote is base on spiritual reasons. Wake up.... wake up...

[POd taxpayer]

Hard Rock , Style and Glitter will bring tourists , Yes anything but that " Dump " on the Lake , Isle of kerplunk " is a merely a floating Truck Stop

[Mike]

The question is whether we think Lake Charles is big enough to handle another casino. I don't see what size has to do with it. Kinder probably wasn't "big" enough to handle Coushatta but that didn't stop it's development! I don't think the size of Lake Charles was an issue when Players and Isle of Capri were located on the lakefront and Pinnacle came to town so why is the question being raised now? Size really isn't an issue...it's all about money and who will control it. You can bet that there will be serious negotiations going on behind the scenes and these will determine who gets the last license.

[Mike]

It occurred to me that perhaps "size" refers to the population required to support a new casino. If you've looked at the parking lots for either of the casinos you'll quickly realize that 90% of the cars are from Texas. Lake Charles is merely used as a parking lot for our neighbors to come to play. Again, the size of our fair city is simply not an issue. It's location close to the Texas border is the only deciding factor.

[Buck]

To, Harry Potter. I wish I had your naive view point. You say "I have confidence and faith in most of our elected officials". I say to you, get the facts. You live in one of the most political corrupt states in the U.S. It has a history of corruption that dates back many years. This city has a group of powerful people pulling the strings on some of our elected officials to be able to control and profit from us. You say "don,t like it you can leave it". I say we need people to stand up and take this country back, don't leave it for our political corrupt politicians to trash. It's not to late!!!!

[Harry Potter]

Buck, you said exactly what I said.... Love it or leave it means if you love it get involved. Quit your griping and do something. i am persaonally tired of all the talk. I am doing something about it. How about the rest of you. VOTE>>>>VOTE>>>>VOTE... Express your opinion and fight for what you believe in. I don't believe gambling is even close to the answer. Nieve brother, nah only by your input ONLY.

[Scott]

It's pretty dumb I think - but oh so typical of our state - that 4 people want to invest hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money here, and 1) we will turn 3 of them away, 2) the GOVERNMENT will decide who "gets" to do business here, and 3) government also wants to tell people what they have to build.

Look at the Las Vegas Strip. That has been built and rebuilt countless times drawing millions of tourists out to the middle of a desert, by letting as many people who want to build a casino and come up with their own designs and attractions.

[Roger W. Sterling, III]

As I had told Jim Serra in an e-mail, I believe that Southwest Louisiana's economy is sweet enough already, which puts Louisiana in "diabetic" condition. If we were to get another casino in Southwest Louisiana, we may need a BIG shot of insulin to counteract the sugar rush.

[ChuckleHead]

NO!!!

[anon]

Roger - Please clarify your metaphor - What would be the 'insulin' needed for another 'sweet' casino\resort?
I say bring on another fabulous multi-million dollar project! It might be just what we need to kickstart our city budget in the right direction.

[CTtcg]

Pinnacle built L'Auberge knowing full well that in May to September of 2005 that there would be two other casinos competing in close proximity: Isle of Capri and Harrah's. Harrah's closed after Rita. So they have absolutely no right to complain about competition.

Lake Charles' economy needs boosting. In the past 10 years, according to the Lake Area Industry Alliance's website, the number of those employed in those companies has decreased.

Lake Charles needs more jobs and more investments from all kinds of businesses. It's a sin to deprive someone or anyone of their just wages.

[AWAKENED]

Mike is so right. "Size" has nothing to do with this decision. The only reason Lake Charles is being, and has been, considered for gaming establishments is mainly due to the "proximity" of the "size" town it is in relation to the border of Texas. Look at Shreveport/Bossier with it's parking lots filled with the Dallas, Texas region while our parking lots cater to the Houston crowds. Next time you take a trip to Houston, try counting the number of busses heading eastward to the border. As soon as Texas leans more toward economics over morale and legalizes gambling, hold on.....

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

I don't know why the Dock Board doesn't seek advice from Mayor Randy and the downtown Development Club. They might be able to relocate some Section eight housing or a new courthouse there. After all, that's what passes for economic development in the city.

Curse those Dock Board guys for wanting to put in a business that actually MAKES money.

[LAKE UPCHUCK]

This is why we don't spend our tax dollars or anything else in this parish.

We buy in Texas, shop in Texas, and only pay what we have to here. Dont want to live there but it is cheaper then buying here.

We do pay our main taxes, on our land and home, but we both work out of Tx. We have not spent money here in 10 years, our kids are out of school so what is the point.

[POd taxpayer]

Anyone Remember RITA , maybe it never happened , did the POTUS visit ?