First Louisiana Riverboat Casino Gets Approved To Come AshoreState Officials Hope Riverboat Casinos Moving To Land Will Spark Economic Growth |
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The Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved its first application for a riverboat casino to move its operations out of the water and onto dry land.
The state legislature changed the legal landscape 18 months ago and decided that it would allow riverboat casinos to come ashore. Prior to this change, Harrah’s New Orleans was the only casino in the state allowed to operate on solid ground.
According to the Advocate of Baton Rouge, the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles had its application approved just before Christmas and its owner, Eldorado Resorts, announced plans to build a $112.7 million casino between the parking lot of the hotel and the riverboat where the casino currently operates.
The new casino will be triple the size of the riverboat. It will house 120 more slot machines, seven more table games, a VIP lounge and new restaurants that overlook the lake.
Ronnie Jones, the gaming board chairman, told The Advocate that the state’s 14 other riverboat casinos are all looking to take their operations out of the water and onto solid ground.
When gambling was legalized in Louisiana 25 years ago, only New Orleans was allowed to have a land-based casino. Other casinos were forced onto riverboats, and in the beginning, those boats were mandated to be sailing while any gambling was taking place.
Owners and state officials are optimistic that these changes will help spark the economic decline the casinos have seen during the last fiscal year. Last week, economists predicted that riverboat casino revenue would drop between $8.6 and $12.8 million from the previous fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The law will require riverboats to prove that becoming a land-based casino would provide “economic development” to business, which in turn will provide more tax revenue to the state.
During the last fiscal year, the state government took in $715 million in gambling taxes alone.
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