Diamond Jacks in Bossier Metropolis Bought, Basis Plans $200M Overhaul
The shuttered Diamond Jacks On line casino in Bossier Metropolis, La., has formally been bought to Basis Gaming. The Mississippi-based gaming agency owns and operates the Fitz Tunica On line casino & Lodge and WaterView On line casino & Lodge in Vicksburg.
Diamond Jacks On line casino in Bossier Metropolis, La., is seen shuttered and fenced off. The previous riverboat has been bought to Basis Gaming. The corporate is planning a $200 million overhaul of the property. (Picture: AP)
Basis in Could 2022 agreed to accumulate the previous Diamond Jacks On line casino from Peninsula Pacific Leisure (P2E) for an undisclosed sum. P2E closed the Louisiana riverboat in the course of the pandemic.
P2E tried to relocate the gaming license to Slidell, north of New Orleans, via a brand new $325 million on line casino improvement known as Camellia Bay Resort. However native voters within the St. Tammany Parish rejected the scheme. The Louisiana Gaming Management Board (LGCB) authorized the Diamond Jacks sale throughout its assembly on Thursday.
This can be a day we’ve been ready for a very long time,” mentioned LGCB Chair Ronnie Johns. “Basis has a formidable plan.”
Basis, not like P2E, is optimistic concerning the way forward for Bossier Metropolis’s gaming trade. Whereas Peninsula Pacific mentioned the Shreveport-Bossier Metropolis market had turn into oversaturated, Basis is able to inject practically $200 million into updating the previous riverboat right into a land-based resort.
On line casino Transferring Ashore
In response to latest hurricanes and extreme river flooding, Louisiana lawmakers in 2018 handed laws that allowed the state’s riverboat casinos to maneuver inland. The one requirement is that new on line casino buildings stay inside 1,200 toes of their unique barges.
Basis Gaming plans to make the most of the inland alternative. The practically $200 million renovation finances, the corporate says, will lead to a wholly new on line casino construction constructed above land adjoining to the present Diamond Jacks resort constructing. Basis says the brand new on line casino will measure 47,000 sq. toes and have slot machines, desk video games, and a sportsbook.
“We’ve put collectively what we consider shall be an important undertaking for the market and for the neighborhood,” commented Greg Guida, Basis’s co-chief govt officer.
Basis plans to renovate every of the property’s 405 resort guestrooms. The funding moreover features a 300-seat dwell leisure venue, plus a minimum of three new eating places, two retail outlets, and a spa and pool complicated.
The undertaking may also return jobs and tax {dollars} to Bossier Metropolis. On the finish of 2019, Diamond Jacks employed 338 folks. Basis says it would rename the property as soon as the renovation undertaking is full, which is predicted in 2024.
State Bids P2E Adieu
Louisiana gaming regulators don’t consider Peninsula Pacific ever had a lot intent in working a on line casino in Bossier Metropolis. Board officers as an alternative suppose the Los Angeles-based gaming agency acquired Diamond Jacks in 2016 with the objective of relocating the state gaming license to a extra engaging market.
Peninsula purchased the property to go to St. Tammany. When that didn’t work out, they bailed,” Johns opined.
The Shreveport-Bossier Metropolis on line casino market at the moment consists of Boomtown Bossier Metropolis On line casino, Horseshoe Bossier Metropolis On line casino & Lodge, Louisiana Downs On line casino & Racetrack, Margaritaville Resort On line casino, Bally’s Shreveport On line casino & Lodge, and Sam’s City Lodge & On line casino.
Although it had the excellence of being the oldest on line casino in Shreveport-Bossier Metropolis, Diamond Jacks was the smallest boat within the Crimson River earlier than its closing. The on line casino gained simply $35.1 million in the course of the state’s 2018-19 fiscal 12 months, the bottom haul of the bunch.
