An ambitious plan presented to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) by The Cordish Companies on Monday seeks to redevelop the Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel in Bossier City and build a Live! casino resort.
‘World-Class Resort Destination’
Central to the $250+ million redevelopment plan is the construction of an entirely new land-based casino and the removal of the existing casino riverboat. Subject to approval by the LGCB, The Cordish Companies plans to open its new destination, Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, in 2025.
Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will be a world-class resort destination that brings a first-class gaming, dining, entertainment and hospitality experience to the region, creates significant new jobs, and generates millions of dollars in economic benefits for the community.
Joe Weinberg, managing partner, The Cordish Companies
The new Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will feature a brand new land-based casino with 47,000 square feet of gaming space offering visitors more than 1,000 slots and electronic table games and over 30 live table games. A resort-style hotel with more than 400 rooms will provide hospitality for the resort guests.
The complex will also have a 25,000-square-foot event center providing space for entertainment events, meetings, conventions, non-profits, and social gatherings. An additional 30,000 square feet will be dedicated to dining and entertainment venues, with six new food and beverage outlets among which Sports & Social and PBR Cowboy Bar.
Life Changer for the Region
Excited to welcome The Cordish Companies to Bossier City and looking forward to working with them, Bossier City Mayor Thomas Chandler expressed the high expectations the city has about the newly-proposed casino project.
“Live! Casino and Hotel Louisiana will attract millions of visitors to our city, create substantial new jobs, and generate additional significant tax revenue for our community,” he said, concluding that the project would be “a life changer” for the region.
Ronnie Johns, chairman of the LGCB, was equally excited and looking forward to working with The Cordish Companies, highlighting their “exemplary” reputation as owners and operators of casinos, restaurants, hotels and entertainment destinations nationwide.
Grateful to Foundation Gaming “for their vision in beginning this much-needed process of rebuilding a closed casino property” and The Cordish Companies “for choosing Louisiana to bring their expertise and major investment,” Johns concluded by stating that the Board will be working with both “to make this project a reality” and “deliver a gaming and entertainment destination that Louisiana can be proud of.”
On behalf of Foundation Gaming & Entertainment, co-chief executive officer Greg Guida outlined expectations that demolition of the Diamond Jacks property that started in February would soon finish and clear the way for the new casino resort to appear.
For The Cordish Companies, the development of Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will affirm the group’s ambition to continue to expand across markets in the South Central and Southeast regions in the US, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.