Louisiana gaming regulators approved plans for the Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge to move its gaming facility from a dockside location on the Mississippi River to a land-based facility by 2022.
The approval marks the second Louisiana casino approved for such a move since the state legislature and the governor in 2018 changed state law and allowed riverboard casinos to come onshore as long as all gambling activities remain within 1,200 feet of their licensed berths. Isle of Capri in Westlake was given permission to make the move in December and the new facility will open in mid-2021.
Hollywood Casino, which is owned and operated by Gaming and Leisure Properties, will spend between $21 million and $25 million on the move to a to-be-constructed landside facility.
In a statement Friday, GLPI said the facility will bring significant economic benefits to Downtown Baton Rouge. The project is expected to provide 166 construction jobs to the area with total labor spend of approximately $10 million.
Hollywood Baton Rouge is one of just two casinos operated by GLPI, a real estate investment trust, which owns some 45 gaming properties across the U.S. and leases the operations to casino operators Penn National Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, and Boyd Gaming.
Hollywood Baton Rouge General Manager Jeannie Magdefrau said in a statement the move onshore would result in $500 million of economic impact to the region in its first six years of operation.
“By moving landside we can sell and/or move the boat to free up dock space so that we can increase visitation from what is an ever-expanding Mississippi River cruise business,” Magdefrau said.
Hollywood Baton Rouge is one of three casinos in the Baton Rouge market. According to figures from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the property produced $4.4 million in gaming revenues in July, a 1.3% increase over July 2019 despite operating under state-mandated COVID-19 health, safety, and cleaning guidelines, which also include reduced capacity protocols. Through July, the property’s gaming revenues are down almost 36% compared to a year ago.
Penn National Gaming’s L’Auberge du Lac Baton Rouge, a full-scale resort casino, is the market leader with three times the monthly gaming revenue as the Hollywood property.
The current Hollywood Baton Rouge riverboat is a 29,000-square-foot facility. Magdefrau didn’t say how large the new casino would be, but the construction “will provide our current and new guests with a state-of-the-art gaming and entertainment destination in the city.”
GLPI said plans call for both indoor and outdoor gaming opportunities and new non-gaming amenities, such as a Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken Restaurant, a sports bar/restaurant and entertainment venue with 250 seats, and flexible meeting space for 200 or more guests.
In addition to the riverboat casino, the location includes a more than 66,000-square-foot facility with dining options, meeting facilities, and other amenities.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
