Peninsula Pacific is a company based in Los Angeles, California that currently operates the DiamondJacks Casino & Hotel of Bossier City. The company has announced they would like to operate a casino in the Tangipahoa Parish instead of their current location and met with Hammond community members and officials this week to discuss a potential move.
The company has plans to offer a new casino along with an event center with both indoor and outdoor access, a buffet in farmer’s market style and a dock to be used for bass fishing tournaments. Peninsula Pacific CEO Brent Stevens commented that the Tangipahoa location would help the state to recapture gamers who are traveling to Mississippi for casino entertainment.
Stevens stated that the company wants to bring casino gaming to a place where the migration of gamblers who are heading to Mississippi can be recaptured. However, to do so, the license of the gaming venue would need both legislative and voter approval to change locations.
The new facility would have a gaming floor consisting of 27,000 square feet that will house 25 card table games and 800 slot machines. The property would have one hotel that would offer 200 guest rooms. However, the goal is to offer even more hotel options if other developers can be recruited. The new casino should bring 500 permanent employment positions to the region with an average salary of $35,000 per year plus benefits.
The company would be investing $100 million on the project. Information was provided during the meeting to shed light on how the area would be affected such as traffic and construction. Many were concerned about traffic and crime. Officials stated that as many as 3,800 to 12,000 cars would be running through an intersection nearby to reach the venue but would not come through during peak commutes.
The casino operators hopes to be approved for the move, but if not, they will expand their existing DiamondJacks casino to offer more options for visitors.
