Paragon: No quarterly payment to Avoyelles governments

For the second time in three three quarters, there will be no checks to local government entities from Paragon Casino.
Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Chairman Joey Barbry made the announcement last week, citing increased competition for the gaming dollars as the main reason.
“Although no quarterly public distribution will be made, we want to assure our guests, vendors and employees that we are generating sufficient funds to operate our business and provide the excellent customer service that our patrons expect,” Barbry said.
Barbry told LSN in June that the tribe’s economic plans are not just tied to Paragon Casino.
“We are currently in a mode to see what is possible and realistic, what will benefit the tribe, parish and state,” Barbry said in that interview. “We are looking into everything.” Barbry said the tribe intends to “continue to make the casino better, but the Paragon is the beginning -- not the end. It afforded us the opportunity to start the economic development of the tribe, but now it is time to diversify.”
Barbry said the gaming industry “depends on people’s extra income. We want to branch out into more stable industries that don’t fluctuate with the economy. “The casino was a beautiful centerpiece, but we need to add more jewels to the crown.”
When the Marksville casino opened in 1994 as Grand Casino, there were only a few casinos in or near the state. Now there are more than 20 in Louisiana, and other nearby casinos in Mississippi.
Government entities were so glad to receive a check from the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s casino operations that they may not have realized that this year’s first quarter check was significantly less than last year’s first quarter check.
Parish and municipal governing boards, as well as the district court and the Avoyelles Commission on Tourism, all get agreed upon shares of a small percentage of the casino’s profits. Under the compact with the state, the tribe sets aside six percent of its net profits each quarter to be distributed among the nine municipalities, Police Jury, School Board, Sheriff’s Office, 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and 12th Judicial District judges. The ACT is allowed to take $12,500 “off the top” before the remainder is distributed. The other entities then get their agreed upon percentages from what is left over.
In the last quarter of 2013, the casino declared that it had a net loss and thus was unable to make a distribution at all. For the first quarter of 2014, which ended March 31, the casino’s total distribution to parish entities was $101,969.26. That is more than the zero received for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2013, and considerably more than the $32,832.50 distributed for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2013. It is a slight improvement over the $96,974.42 distributed for the quarter ending June 30, 2013. However, for the first quarter of 2013, the tribe distributed $255,475.86.
As casino officials have noted previously, the gaming industry is subject to fluctuations from one quarter to the next. The one-year comparison between this March and last does not necessarily mean that trend will continue with the second quarter being less than last year’s second quarter, etc. However, in the review of distributions since 2010, the only time where a second quarter distribution was higher than the previous year’s was in 2011. The only time where a first quarter was higher than the previous year was 2012. In all other instances, a quarterly distribution was less than the same quarter the previous year.

Some municipal governments have adopted budgets anticipating a modest increase in gaming revenues, apparently believing the fourth-quarter goose egg was a fluke and not the beginning of what could be a downward trend.

While any reduction in revenue hurts, the casino distribution is not a major funding source for the local entities. The Police Jury discussed the possibility of a life-without-gaming earlier this year.

A look at quarterly distributions since 2010 has shown that distribution amounts decrease each quarter, with the first quarter being the highest and the last quarter being the smallest. The level of decrease is not always the same from year to year.

In 2010, the first quarter was $436,889 and the fourth quarter was $187,526. In 2011, the first quarter was $366,391 and the fourth was $106,955. In 2012, the first quarter was $378,908 and the final quarter was $74,894. In 2013, the first quarter distribution was $255,475 and there was no distribution in the fourth quarter.