Attorney general opposes casino, supporters pitch project

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002 | 4:32 a.m.

Vinton-area officials who support a proposed Indian casino in southwestern Louisiana traveled to Washington for a Thursday meeting with federal officials to pitch the project, one day after the state attorney general said he is opposing the gambling hall.

Vinton Mayor David Riggins said the six-member delegation believes that the Jena Choctaw project will benefit the entire southwestern Louisiana region, already a heavily competitive gambling market.

After secret negotiations, Gov. Mike Foster signed a compact with the Jena Choctaws in January. The tribe is planning a casino, hotel, golf course and convention center.

The resort would be located closer to the Texas border than the four riverboat casinos in Lake Charles and a reservation casino operated by the Coushattas in Kinder.

Attorney General Richard Ieyoub was in Washington on Tuesday to lobby federal officials to reject the compact. Ieyoub said the governor should have consulted with other officials before agreeing to the deal.

"I don't think it was right to just sign this thing without more consultation with the people and more consideration for the economic impact on that area," Ieyoub said Wednesday.

Ieyoub, who is from Lake Charles, has been asked by opponents to issue an official opinion on the legality of the compact. He said it is in the works.

Earlier in the week, Foster also visited with Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which will either accept or reject the compact. Foster said he only spoke briefly with Norton about the casino.

Ieyoub said he met with Norton and tried to emphasize what he called the potentially devastating economic impact that the casino would have on southwestern Louisiana. A study by two McNeese State University economists said the casino could cost state and local governments as much as $72 million in taxes and eliminate up to 800 jobs in the Lake Charles area.

But before leaving for Washington, Calcasieu Parish Police Juror Brent Clement said the project would boost the parish's economy. Due to the location of the riverboats, the economic gap between eastern and western portions of the parish has widened, he said.

Also traveling to Washington to meet with the Bureau of Indian Affairs were Police Juror Sandy Treme and Vinton Town Council members B.B. Loyd, Kenneth Stinson and Donald Dupre Sr.

Foster, who has been blasted by opponents of the Jena Choctaw project, has said he had no choice under federal law but to negotiate with the tribe and tried to cut the best deal possible for the state. The tribe has agreed to pay the state 15.5 percent of its casino profit for teacher pay, and another 6.5 percent to local governments.

Riverboat casinos pay 21.5 percent of the gross gambling revenue - before any expenses are considered - as a direct state tax. States are banned from directly taxing Indian casinos.