17 Church Street
St. John's Antigua, WI
USA (925) 754-8833
Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General February 25, 2000
State of Louisiana VIA FAX: (504) 599-1183
ATT: Jeanne-Marie Zeringue Barham
Re: Opinion 99-301
Dear Attorney General Ieyoub,
I am in receipt of your opinion letter to Ouachita Parish Parish District Attorney Jerry Jones dated 2/11/00.
First, let me address the issue of liability with you regarding your opinion:
In the spring of 1999, Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. met with Messrs. Tom Warner and James Smith of the Louisiana Department of Justice Gaming Division at the LaDOJ office in Baton Rouge. During the course of the meeting, all aspects of the Mardi Gras Holding Group private business plan were outlined in depth. We answered all questions and concerns posed by Messrs Warner and Smith. We were clearly and plainly informed that our business structure and activities did not violate Louisiana law in any manner. Further, and most importantly, Messrs. Warner and Smith OFFERED to issue a letter stating this LaDOJ approval, in their words, "for your investors." We graciously thanked them for their time and legal opinion and proceeded to conduct our business accordingly which included raising interim funding from private sector investors based on Messrs. Warner's and Smith's official approval. Please be advised that we will take up this matter with our personal legal counsel as to any damages due us from these inappropriate actions.
Secondly, it was shocking to learn about opinion 99-301 from the Baton Rouge Morning
Advocate, Sunday 2/20/00. In the article there were also several disturbing, untrue quotes
by Louisiana State Representative Tony Perkins of Baker, Louisiana. We personally feel that
this media was uncalled for, perhaps even politically orchestrated by either your office or Rep.
Perkins, or both, and totally misrepresents and degrades Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc.
Please be advised that this serious topic will also be discussed with our personal legal counsel
as to any damages due us from these misrepresentations and highly inappropriate actions.
Thirdly, it is our personal opinion that the you and your office are not clear on the objectives and factual information pertaining to Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. despite our comprehensive meeting with your office in early 1999. In a spirit of harmony, we will now attempt to rectify your understanding clearly and precisely, as follows:
- Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. consists of a dozen American shareholders, all
businessmen, from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and California. As Louisiana natives, our co-managing directors brought the Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. plan to the Louisiana Department of Justice for we desired that our native state receive the severely needed jobs and economic impact. We've always been proud of our Louisiana heritage and we have provided Louisiana with our marketing and economic windfalls many times in the past having created the Louisiana Music Commission in 1979 in the Louisiana Legislature and through our award winning television programs of the past years. Our families have been very active in
developing Louisiana for over 150 years.
- We originally chose the Monroe area for it contains a Federal Empowerment Zone which
provides workers and businesses with additional incentives that appealed to some of our original investors.
- We are proposing a private, maximum security business in Louisiana and NOT a casino. The business is no different than a film or television production facility where employees (or actors, if you will) perform their jobs for a television camera. The signal is then transmitted via satellite to a legally licensed Antigua company just as any Louisiana TV station would transmit news to a major network or CNN. There is no difference.
Further, please allow me to address your opinion 99-301 specifically:
a. In your opinion letter you state: "The Louisiana Legislature.......finds that the state has a compelling interest in protecting its citizens and children from certain activities and influences which can result in irreparable harm." Please find attached, as EXHIBIT A, the United States Supreme Court ruling on the Communications Decency Act of 1996 wherein the United States Supreme Court found the act unconstitutional and in conflict with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It is our belief that La R.S. 14:90.3 is also unconstitutional for it falls under the same category as the Supreme Court decision. We ask that you reconsider your opinion based on this fact determined by the highest court in the land.
b. In your opinion letter you state: "The legislature has expressed its intent to develop
a controlled well-regulated gambling industry." Please be advised that in our meetings
with the LaDOJ, and in all communications between Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc.
and your office, WE WELCOMED CONTROL AND REGULATION AND SPECIFICALLY
ASKED FOR IT. We fail to understand your reasoning here and ask that you further
reconsider your opinion based on this fact.
c. In your opinion letter you stated: "The legislature is also charged with the responsibility of protecting and assisting its citizens who suffer from compulsive or problem gaming behavior which can result from the increased availability of legalized gaming activities." Please be advised that in our meetings with the LaDOJ and in all communications between the LaDOJ and Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. that we clearly pointed out our unprecedented plans to assist compulsive/problem gamblers in ways NOT offered by any existing land based casino.
d. In your opinion letter, you stated: "The system that Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc. contemplates would necessitate the local casino to "directly assist in the conducting as a business of any game...whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value...when accessing the Internet...." As such it is our opinion that the enterprise would violate La R.S. 14:90.3(b)." Please be advised that our plan has NO CASINO involved and that NO ONE FROM LOUISIANA OR THE UNITED STATES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE LEGALLY LICENSED ACTIVITY ON THE
INTERNET. We ask that you reconsider your opinion for it appears based on untrue allegations, perhaps due to your lack of understanding of our overall business objectives and structure. We have attached, as EXHIBIT B, a copy of our most recent research report (The Legalization if Internet Gaming in the United States of America) for your review. It should totally clarify our position.
Further, please allow me to share some further concerns with you:
e. Internet stock trading has been classified as a form of compulsive gambling by nearly all credible mental and medical specialists. If the intent of the Louisiana Legislature to protect their citizens and children from compulsive and problem gambling, then why have you not closed down all Internet stock trading web site access in Louisiana? Please advise.
f. Further, the picture below was taken on 2/25/00 and is of a billboard located on I-10
between Metairie and Kenner, Louisiana. The third party corporate professional services we propose to furnish to the legally licensed Antigua corporation are no different than the services provided by the billboard company yet they legally operate in Louisiana. Please advise.
In closing, we would like to suggest that we meet with you at your earliest possible
convenience. We would then be able to totally clarify our proposed private, free enterprise
plan.
It is our belief that, were you clear on our proposal, and, further, if our proposal is not
misrepresented and misinterpreted (sadly, perhaps maliciously) as it clearly appeared to be
in the media quotes by Rep. Perkins, that a revised correct and unbiased opinion may then be
seriously considered by your office that would allow Louisiana to share in the economic impact
of our plan.
Please advise.
Respectfully yours,
Robert G. Vernon
Managing Director
Mardi Gras Holding Group, Inc.
2609 Coffee Tree Court
Antioch, CA 94509
cc: Rep. Tony Perkins
The Associated Press
Baton Rouge Morning Advocate
Times Picayune