$270M Live! Casino Hotel Louisiana Breaks Ground in Bossier City

Posted on: December 15, 2023, 12:34h. 

Last updated on: December 15, 2023, 09:14h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Construction on Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana in Bossier City is officially underway.

Live! Casino Louisiana Cordish Diamond Jacks
Executives from The Cordish Companies and state and local officials break ground on Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana in Bossier City on Dec. 13, 2023. The $270 million project is a redevelopment of the former Diamond Jacks riverboat casino and hotel. (Image: The Cordish Companies)

On Wednesday, the Cordish Companies celebrated the commencement of construction on the first land-based casino in the Shreveport-Bossier City market. Cordish acquired the shuttered Diamond Jacks riverboat and hotel this fall for an undisclosed price from Foundation Gaming.

The $270 million redevelopment will result in a new 47,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar casino with over 1,000 slots and 40 live dealer table games. The hotel will undergo a major renovation, resulting in an upscale 550-room property with a resort pool and fitness center.

Cordish also builds a 25,000-square-foot multipurpose events center and 30,000 square feet of dining venues. A parking garage is also planned.

Cordish operates Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh in the city suburb of Westmoreland.

Cordish First

Cordish has emerged as one of the country’s most bullish gaming developers in recent years. The company opened both Pennsylvania casinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic with Live! Pittsburgh is opening in November 2020 and Live! Philadelphia in early 2021.

Cordish has been as active as any other major casino company after the coronavirus. The company is interested in building commercial casinos in North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas. Though none of those states have led to gaming projects, Cordish found a new market to expand to by way of Louisiana.

The company’s redevelopment of Diamond Jacks also marks a first for Cordish, as the hospitality, gaming, and mixed-use real estate developer has never reconditioned a shuttered casino to give it new life.

Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana is being built along the Red River directly across from Shreveport. The property is approximately 20 miles from the Texas border and 40 miles from Arkansas.

Cordish has already dismantled and removed the former Diamond Jacks riverboat casino.

Bossier City Resurgence

Diamond Jacks’ former owner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, unsuccessfully sought to relocate its Louisiana gaming license to a more favorable operating market. Ronnie Johns, the Louisiana Gaming Commission chair, believes Cordish’s investment will help revitalize Bossier City.

There’s no doubt the gaming market in Shreveport-Bossier has a bright future,” Johns told USA Today this week. “To see this happening is incredible.”

The resort will create 750 permanent positions on annual salaries, wages, and tips of a projected $34 million, or about $45,333 per job. The per capita income in Bossier City in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau, was $30,737.

Cordish expects its first casino in Louisiana to open in early 2025.