Following a decision by voters in the St Mary's parish of Louisiana to allow The Belle of New Orleans, now the Amelia Belle, casino boat to take up residence in the area, the benefits to the local community are becoming apparent. The president of St Mary's parish, Paul Naquin, revealed that the casino boat's relocation was coming along, indicating that the Amelia Belle could be on site within 90 days and could open by early November. Mr Naquin stated that the casino boat would provide a welcome boost for the local economy, with the boat's owners scheduled to pay $1.5 million on the day the casino opens, followed by annual tax payments of around $2.8 million. In a vote last Saturday 5,163 voters approved the relocation of the boat to Bayou Boeuf, a figure representing 65 per cent of all who took part. "I'm just so happy the people of St Mary's Parish voted to allow the move. That's going to help our parish, just on assessed value of that boat," Mr Naquin told the Advocate. The decision to relocate by the boat's owners, Columbia Sussex Corp, came after the boat was damaged in Hurricane Katrina last year. The Amelia Belle is anticipated to create around 400 jobs for the local community.  © Adfero Ltd
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