Time now to make our gamble pay off

Like most wars, the war over the Riviere got ugly quick, and even though it’s over, it’s not really over.

In the bare-knuckled and expensive battle for public opinion over Pinnacle Entertainment, the company ultimately prevailed and convinced voters its $250 million resort is a good thing for East Baton Rouge Parish.

But there is still important work to be done on behalf of the community.

It’s up to the Metro Council, Pinnacle and whichever riverboat casino operators stick around to make sure gambling continues to make constructive contributions in this parish because goodness knows gambling will continue to make destructive ones.

Now that voters have given Pinnacle their blessing, it is up to the Metro Council to rezone the property. In that process, the Metro Council wields the power to force Pinnacle to help pay for new roads and other services its sprawling new business will strain.

Will the Metro Council go limp and let Pinnacle dictate the terms, or will our representatives have the will to demand a thorough examination of the potential impact of Pinnacle’s exact plans? We contend it’s the Metro Council’s job to ensure Pinnacle is required to improve the roads, beef up services and offset at least some of the impact the casino will have.

Pinnacle was willing to risk spending millions just for the opportunity to bring in its casino. The company tantalized with renderings of sprawling plans, snazzy hotel rooms, plus shopping, clubs, new homes and a golf course. In fact, one has to search the rendering carefully to find the little rectangle on the river that is the whole reason for the

hubbub—the casino itself. It’s almost as though the casino were but a tiny fraction of the development.

But make no mistake: That little box will take millions of dollars from gamblers. Now is the time to ensure the flip side of that coin: Pinnacle should put its money where its mouth is and live up to its promise of paying for more than it’s asked.

And what about Columbia Sussex Corp. and Penn National Gaming, owners of the Belle of Baton Rouge and Hollywood Casino, respectively? They spent money to keep a competitor off their turf, in what amounted to something they see every day from their customers—a gamble that failed. Now Columbia Sussex wants to swap its Baton Rouge casino with a larger one to better compete.

We say both Columbia Sussex and Penn National should step up and re-commit themselves to investing in this community, not only with the taxes and fees they pay, but through philanthropy and strategic partnerships that help to solve poverty, illiteracy and crime, all of which have direct and indirect connections to gambling, not to mention Baton Rouge’s future.