On Friday, August 9th, Governor Bobby Jindal appointed longtime public servant Ronnie Jones to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. Jones will serve as Chairman and an at-large representative, as required by statute. Jones fills the vacancy left by the untimely death of Chairman Dale Hall.
Jones began his state service in 1974 as a Louisiana State Trooper assigned to Troop A in Baton Rouge. Jones served the department in many aspects including operations, training and administration. He also served for many years as the department's official spokesperson. Jones rose through the ranks of State Police retiring in 2000 as a Lt. Colonel and Deputy Superintendent with 27 years of service.
Additionally, Jones spent over 20 years as a criminal justice instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and 6 years as an Adjunct at Tulane University. He rejoined the Department of Public Safety in 2008 as the Confidential Assistant to the Deputy Secretary.
"Ronnie exemplifies what it means to be a public servant. He has been a member of the Department of Public Safety family for almost 40 years. He has a well-rounded perspective having served as an LSP Deputy Superintendent, the DPS Undersecretary and the last 5 years as my Confidential Assistant," said Colonel Mike Edmonson, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Public Safety. "Ronnie is uniquely qualified for this appointment having served as the State Police Legislative Coordinator and Public Affairs Supervisor when the original gaming bills were passed. Additionally, he helped State Police oversee the implementation of operations for both riverboat gaming and video poker."
"I'm honored to have been selected for this position, and I'm humbled by the trust placed in me," said Jones. "Gaming is a $3 billion industry in this state, and our job as the Gaming Control Board is to maintain public confidence in the industry and ensure that integrity of operations is a priority. It's too important to our citizens and our state to expect anything less."
The mission of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board is to regulate all gaming activities under its jurisdiction in a manner which instills public confidence and trust that gaming activities are conducted honestly and free from criminal and corruptive elements. The Board strives to insure the integrity of individual gaming activities by the regulation of persons, practices, associations and activities within the gaming industry.