SLIDELL, La. — Following a controversial meeting that ended close to midnight, the St. Tammany Parish Council decided voters will have a say in whether a casino opens in Slidell.
The 8-to-6 vote was largely split by representatives from east and west St. Tammany Parish.
"The state delegation - terrible, terrible thing to put something up like this to purposely try to split the parish east and west and not even have the guts to show up and explain yourself," said Council Member Chris Canulette, who represents District 8 in Slidell.
"The will of the people unquestionably in this case, is proven to me tonight. They want to vote on this," said Council Member Rykert Toledano, who represents District 5 in Mandeville.
Most votes in favor came from west St. Tammany Parish. Most against it represent Slidell, where the casino would open.
"That's typically what's known as the 'not in my backyard' syndrome," said Ed Chervenak, PhD, political science professor at UNO. "Slidell representatives probably hearing from their constituents, they're not interested in having this casino whereas residents elsewhere would like to see that revenue generated and are not concerned about the quality of life because the casino is not in their neighborhood."
Parish voters will be asked if they want to undo the 1996 vote to ban casino gambling and clear the way for a group called Pacific Peninsula Entertainment or P2E to build a $325 million casino resort in Slidell near Lake Pontchartrain.
"Voters of St. Tammany should have this opportunity," St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper said.
The casino would open in Jake Airey's district, District 13. He voted against moving forward to a parish wide vote, but now hopes voters will put their energy into learning more about the project before the biggest vote yet is in their hands.
"Get educated on the fact that gambling is a huge part of St. Tammany already. Frankly, I didn't realize the hundreds of millions of dollars that leave the parish and go to Mississippi," Airey said "Look at that. Look at social ills gambling causes and whether that’s already here." .
Airey believes ultimately, the proposal will pass.
"I think it will," Airey said. "I think it'll be 60 - 40, something like that."
St. Tammany voters will make the call Nov. 13.