This November, the residents of the Parish of St. Tammany will decide whether they want a casino in Slidell or not. The Parish Council on Wednesday agreed in a referendum that the votes would be decided by ballot-counting, and only then will the results determine whether a casino will be built in Slidell or not.

Now, the Parish members and the President of Paris are facing two lawsuits because of it. The first lawsuit is regarding the halt of the meeting, which was to be done by the Parish Council members. The second lawsuit has been pending, and if the Judges give it way, it will entirely revoke the chances of having ballot voting, which would decide the fate of the Sidell casino.

Pastor John Raymond of the New Horizon Church located in Sidell is filing a lawsuit against the Parish Council and Parish President. He is also an elected member of the Republican Parish Executive Committee. Raymond, in his statement, said that this could be the thing that stops the council from proceeding any further in building a casino in Sidell.

In his lawsuit, Raymond has clearly stated that the St. Tammany Parish’s elected leaders are doing away with the rules and regulations of the State of Louisiana by approving the conduction of voting in the State through the ballot process gambling has been banned in the parish.

Raymond, in his statement, also said that first, Casino gambling needs to be approved, and then only other things will get the green light. He and his attorneys are worried that this casino proposal may become the cause of dividing the people in the east and west of St. Tammany.

They have supported the fact that people have the right to vote, but it should be legal and definitely needs to be approved by the government of the States of Louisiana. The parish cannot bypass the rules put in place by the States.