Belle of Baton Rouge Opens Temporary Casino as Property Overhaul Continues

Posted on: October 22, 2024, 09:28h. 

Last updated on: October 22, 2024, 09:35h.

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

The Belle of Baton Rouge in the Louisiana capital city has reopened after a five-day shutdown.

Belle of Baton Rouge Louisiana casino
The last slot machine has spun aboard the Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat. The floating gaming vessel has been replaced with land-based gaming operations. (Image: The Advocate)

On Monday, the Belle of Baton Rouge took its first bets above land, as the casino opened a temporary brick-and-mortar gaming room with 220 slot machines and three live dealer table games. The 9,775-square-foot facility is open daily from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m.

The Belle of Baton Rouge permanently shuttered its riverboat last Thursday after 30 years in operation. The Catfish Town casino boat spanned 28,500 square feet offering 350 slots and 10 tables.

The riverboat was one of two casino licenses allocated by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board — then known as the Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Commission — in the early 1990s to the city of Baton Rouge after state lawmakers passed legislation to allow commercial gambling on certain lakes and rivers.

Property Overhaul 

The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., the Illinois-headquartered regional gaming firm that has casinos in Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana, is the operator of the Belle of Baton Rouge. Along with the casino’s landlord, Penn Entertainment’s Gaming and Leisure Properties, the company is amid 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, expected to open in the fall of 2025, will include 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 fully renovate the existing 10-story hotel tower and its 242 guestrooms. The hotel has been shuttered since the pandemic, with Queen officials saying its reintroduction “will contribute additional hotel room inventory to 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 a mile south of the Louisiana State Capitol.

GLPI is bankrolling the bulk of the project at $111 million. Queen Casino & Entertainment is covering the remaining $30 million.

Once complete, Queen Casino & Entertainment will enter into a new lease agreement with GLPI at a rate that will increase by 9% annually. Terms of the initial rent weren’t 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 landside 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 Queen Baton Rouge makeover additionally included renovating all 250 hotel guestrooms and bringing 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 aged riverboat with a 17K-square-foot casino that will include over 400 slots and several table games.