Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, set to become the first land-based casino in the Shreveport-Bossier market, marked a construction milestone this week.
A rendering of Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana in Bossier City. The former Diamond Jacks resort is slated to open in the first quarter of 2025. (Image: Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana)
On Wednesday, officials with The Cordish Companies, the developer behind the $270 million project, were joined by state and local dignitaries who helped the company celebrate the “Topping Off” of the resort’s new hotel entrance.
Today marks an incredibly special day for The Cordish Companies as we continue to expand our Live! brand in the Southeast region of the country with the development of Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana,” said Rob Norton, president of Cordish Gaming. “With the first land-based casino in the market, Live! Casino & Hotel will be a transformative development that will bring a first-class gaming and entertainment experience to millions of visitors, create significant new jobs, and generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for the community for generations to come.”
Construction on the brand-new 47,000-square-foot land-based casino facility is underway, too. The forthcoming casino will house over 1,000 slot machines, 40 live dealer table games, and a sportsbook. It’s being built just east of the hotel entrance.
Early 2025 Opening
Cordish operates Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland near BWI airport in its home state and two casinos in Pennsylvania. The company hopes to build a casino in Virginia’s Petersburg should a successful local referendum regarding the project find adequate support in November.
Cordish, which also develops and operates mixed-use entertainment and retail complexes across the country, is embarking on its first redevelopment of a casino with its Bossier City undertaking. Cordish acquired the former Diamond Jacks riverboat casino and adjacent hotel last year.
Diamond Jacks was closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic by Los Angeles-based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. After unsuccessfully trying to relocate the state gaming license to the north of New Orleans, P2E sold Diamond Jacks and the gaming concession to Foundation Gaming, a Mississippi-based riverboat operator.
Foundation originally intended to redevelop Diamond Jacks before deciding to unload the property to Cordish for an undisclosed price.
Along with a new brick-and-mortar casino, Cordish is renovating the 550-room hotel, which was in desperate need of an overhaul even before the property closed in 2020. The $270 million investment will additionally upgrade the outdoor pool area and bring a state-of-the-art fitness center to the resort.
Other project components include a 31-site RV park with concrete pads and full hookups, convention and meeting capabilities, and several new food and beverage outlets ranging from fast-casual to fine dining.
Lofty Projections
Louisiana’s 19 land-based casinos, riverboats, and racinos last year generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of nearly $2.7 billion. The growth of sports betting offset a decline in traditional slot and table win.
Cordish is betting big that the in-person market has room to grow. The Shreveport/Bossier region experienced retail GGR declines in 2022 and 2023. Live! Casino & Hotel is expected to re-energize the market.
Cordish says the casino has generated 750 temporary construction jobs and will employ 750 resort workers permanently. Set to open in the first quarter of next year, the company forecasts Live! Louisiana to generate more than $35 million in gaming taxes for Bossier City and over $168 million for the state within its first five years of operation.
Cordish is actively hiring an array of positions, including in hotel management, finance, marketing, human resources, IT, food and beverage, security, and casino operations.
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