LV casino executive promoting controversial project

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

A Las Vegas company led by the daughter of casino magnate Bill Bennett is pushing a plan to build a huge tribal casino in the Los Angeles metro area.

But it appears the plan faces a difficult road, as a number of local officials are strongly opposing the proposal.

Last week, Paragon Gaming LLC of Las Vegas filed plans with Ventura County to build a hotel-casino at Channel Islands Harbor, located near the city of Oxnard. The casino would have 2,000 slot machines and 250 hotel rooms.

Paragon Gaming's principals are Diana Bennett, former president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas-based Casino Data Systems; and Scott Menke, former director of hotel operations at Bill Bennett's Sahara casino.

According to the Los Angeles Times and Ventura County Star, Paragon's plan would involve seeking federal recognition for a new Indian tribe, then purchasing a 10-acre land parcel at the harbor and placing it under federal trust. The tribe would then be able to use this land for the construction of a casino. Currently, Ventura County has no tribal reservations that can be used for the construction of a hotel-casino.

The Paragon proposal estimates such a casino could gross $600 million a year within five years.

After hearing these plans in a closed-door meeting in January, a majority of the county's board of supervisors expressed strong reservations about the Paragon proposal.

"I don't care to put an Indian casino, or any type of casino, down at the harbor," Supervisor John Flynn told the Los Angeles Times. "And I don't care to know any more about it."

Mary Rose, spokeswoman for Paragon, said the company "represents a number of tribes in gaming issues," but declined to discuss the Ventura County proposal. Bennett couldn't be reached for comment.