Kennedy wants committee to allow auditor to check casino books

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2000 | 5:39 a.m.

Kennedy, a member of a special study panel on the casino's future, took his message to lawmakers Thursday.

He was asking the Legislative Audit Advisory Council to permit the legislative auditor to look over the casino's books to see just where the state stands.

The council asked Kennedy to come up with specific areas he wanted to look at and then a decision would be made.

Kennedy said one specific audit he wants is projections of the impact on the stock of JCC Holding Co., which operates the casino and on Harrah's Entertainment, which owns more than 40 percent of JCC Holding Co.

"Many analysts report that if a tax concession agreement is confected, it may cause the stock to rise dramatically. If that's the case, should the state of Louisiana be able to share in some of that appreciation through stock options?"

The nation's taxpayers "made many, many millions of dollars" from Chrysler stock options, said Kennedy, referring to federal government revenue.

The casino operators are campaigning for a lowering of the $100 million tax, saying the casino cannot make a reasonable profit by paying that amount to the state - an amount they agreed to with no reservations a few years ago.

They are hoping for a special legislative session no later than January to change the contract.

Gov. Mike Foster has said he will call a session only if he has assurances that enough legislators want to bail out the casino.

Meanwhile, the study panel is meeting periodically to make a recommendation to Foster and the Legislature.

Kennedy said there are other areas that need to be checked by an auditor: