Hurricane Isaac Forces Casinos To Close Along Coastline

Up to 18 casinos along the Mississippi and Louisiana coast closed their doors in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission ordered all of it’s 12 Gulf Coast casinos to shut down operations by 4:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday. In Louisiana, six casinos located in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Morgan City were also closed.

Pinnacle Entertainment had originally planned a soft opening of its L’Auberge Casino and Hotel in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, but has since pushed the final walk through to a later date. The $368 million project overlooks the Mississippi river and will feature a 74,000 square foot casino, a 12-story hotel with 205 rooms, 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games along with a poker room.

The casino still needs final regulatory approval, but there’s no word on when state personnel will be finished dealing with Isaac. In a statement, Pinnacle President and CEO Anthony Sanfilippo said, “Our first concern is the safety of our guests and team members. We remain at the ready to open L’Auberge when it is clear [Hurricane] Isaac is no longer a threat.”

Casinos along the Gulf Coast will undoubtedly take a small financial hit because of the storm, but it will most likely be limited to just a few days of lost revenue due to the closures and not costly repairs.

The category 1 hurricane made landfall early Wednesday morning on the Louisiana coast and forecasters say that the slow-moving storm will pound the coast with rain until at least Thursday, if not longer.

The storm’s 80 mph winds have created a storm surge that will result in floods as high as 2 feet above ground level during high tide and will reach as far as the Florida panhandle.

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