By james art
Posted: October 22, 2024, 9:28 am
Last updated on: October 22, 2024, 09:35 AM.
The Belle of Baton Rouge in Louisiana’s capital has reopened after a five-day shutdown.
On Monday, the Belle of Baton Rouge made its first bets above land as the casino opened a temporary gaming room with 220 slot machines and three table games with a live dealer. The 9,775-square-foot facility is open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
The Belle of Baton Rouge closed its riverboat for good last Thursday after 30 years of operation. The Catfish Town casino ship spans 28,500 square feet, offering 350 slots and 10 tables.
The riverboat was one of two casino licenses granted by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board — then known as the Louisiana River Gaming Commission — in the early 1990s to the city of Baton Rouge after lawmakers in states have passed legislation allowing commercial gambling on certain lakes and rivers.
Overhaul of the property
Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., the Illinois-based regional gambling firm with casinos in Illinois, Iowa and Louisiana, is the operator of Belle of Baton Rouge. Along with the casino’s landlord, Penn Entertainment’s Gaming and Leisure Properties, the company is in the midst of a $141 million overhaul of the destination that will result in a new land-based casino with 25,000 square feet of gaming space.
The permanent casino, located at 103 France Street, which is expected to open in the fall of 2025, will feature 750 slots, 24 tables and a sportsbook. Two restaurants and a live entertainment venue will complement the gaming area.
The $141 million investment will also be used to completely renovate the existing 10-story hotel tower and its 242 guest rooms. The hotel has been closed since the pandemic, with Queen officials saying its reopening “will contribute to additional hotel room inventory in downtown Baton Rouge.”
Hotels in Baton Rouge regularly sell out during LSU Tigers home football games. The casino is less than two miles north of the Louisiana State University campus and one mile south of the Louisiana State Capitol.
GLPI financed the majority of the $111 million project. Queen Casino & Entertainment covered the remaining $30 million.
Once completed, Queen Casino & Entertainment will enter into a new lease with GLPI at a rate that will increase by 9% per annum. Terms of the original lease were not disclosed.
Queen Spending Big
Queen Casino & Entertainment remains bullish on the regional gaming markets where it operates. Controlled by Standard General, the same private equity firm behind Bally’s, Queen holds Baton Rouge’s other gaming license at The Queen Baton Rouge.
The Queen became Baton Rouge’s first casino in August 2023 after the company spent $85 million to open a brick-and-mortar casino with 700 slots, 18 table games and a DraftKings sportsbook. The makeover of the Queen Baton Rouge further includes renovations to all 250 hotel rooms and the introduction of new restaurants, including Shaq’s Big Chicken, to the complex.
The Queen is about a mile north of The Belle, past the state Capitol.
Last week, The Queen Casino & Entertainment broke ground on a land-based casino at the company’s Casino Queen Marquette in Iowa. The $12 million investment will replace the old riverboat with a 17,000-square-foot casino that will include more than 400 slot machines and several table games.