It looks like a national casino operator will soon get the keys to Bossier City’s Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel, after the Louisiana Gaming Control Board granted an affiliate of The Cordish Companies approval on Thursday. The Baltimore-based operator aims to transform the facility into one of Cordish’s Live! Casinos. The facility soon will take on the Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana name once updates are completed, according to a company press release.
It's the latest development for a gaming scene that includes Louisiana sports betting.
The goal for LRGC Gaming Investors, LLC (the Cordish Companies affiliate that received the LGCB approval) is to open the facility under the new brand in 2025. Joe Weinberg, Cordish’s managing partner, called Thursday’s news a win-win for the state’s casino market at large.
“We're grateful to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board for their approval and thank them for their consideration and enthusiastic support through this process," Weinberg said in the press release. "Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will be a transformative development that will bring a first-class gaming, dining, entertainment, and hospitality experience, create significant new jobs, and generate millions of dollars in economic benefits for the community. We are extremely excited to continue moving forward with this project and deliver a world-class destination to the region."
What Cordish Plans To Add To Bossier City Casino
The Cordish company’s ambitions for the Bossier City casino are certainly bold: More than 47,000 square feet of gaming space, more than 1,000 slots and 40 or more table games spread out across the floor.
There will also be a retail sportsbook on-site, though there was no mention of who Cordish plans to have as a partner. The state has mobile Louisiana betting apps as well as brick-and-mortar facilities. Other elements of the project include a 550-room hotel, 25,000-square-foot event center and a 30,000-square-foot dining entertainment space that can hold more than six food and drink options, including Cordish’s existing Sports & Social and PBR Cowboy Bar.
The Bossier City facility joins Cordish’s other Live! Districts outside Truist Park in Atlanta, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Texas Live! In Arlington, Texas, Live! Casino & Hotel in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and Nashville Live! in Tennessee.
Ronnie Johns, the chairman of the LGCB, said in the Cordish release that the board felt that the Baltimore operator was the right choice for the Bossier City casino, with the right mixture of industry experience and track record.
“Cordish has an exceptional reputation in providing first rate casino experiences as well as hospitality and entertainment venues across the country. We are pleased with their decision to bring their Live! brand to the State of Louisiana,” Johns said. “We feel comfortable that their commitment to a first class $270 million project will help grow the Bossier City/Shreveport gaming market. We welcome The Cordish Companies and look forward to working with them to bring this project to a reality to open sometime in 2025.”
Get the best Louisiana sports betting promos as well as more industry updates here at LouisianaBets.com.
