Cordish Unveils Groundbreaking Ceremony for Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana

The Cordish Companies is set to begin construction on its new Louisiana property in two weeks. The groundbreaking ceremony for Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana is set to take place on December 13 and will see the company’s chairman and president personally take part.

The new $270 million property will mark The Cordish Companies’ gambling foray into Louisiana. The Pelican State represents the third commercial gaming state for the company.

Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will replace the former DiamondJacks Casino Resort in Bossier City. The property was acquired by The Cordish Companies from Foundation Gaming for an undisclosed price earlier this year. By securing the property, Cordish also secured the venue’s gambling license, allowing it to launch its own operations.

The DiamondJacks Casino Resort is one of Louisiana’s riverboat properties. Because of a number of devastating hurricanes and storms, the state, which originally only allowed gambling on riverboats, allowed them to move on land.

However, the resort closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, the former owner of the property, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, decided to move to another location. After failing to get a project approved, the company sold DiamondJacks to Foundation Gaming.

The Refurbished Property Will Create Jobs and Generate Millions in Taxes

Now that brick-and-mortar gaming is okay in Louisiana, The Cordish Companies will reimagine the gambling venue as a land-based casino. In the meantime, the developer will redevelop and modernize the hotel, turning the property into a cutting-edge resort.

The groundbreaking ceremony on December 13 will be attended by Cordish chair David Cordish and Cordish’s Gaming Group and Live! Casinos president Rob Norton.

The redeveloped casino is expected to open in early 2025. In an interview with gambling news outlet Casino.org, The Cordish Companies said that the renovated property should generate more than $35 million in gaming taxes for the city and over $168 million in gaming taxes for the state within five years of operation.

The renewed casino resort will feature a 500-room hotel with several restaurants. Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana should thus create approximately 750 new jobs and will also provide contract opportunities to local businesses.

The Cordish Companies currently operates a number of gambling properties, including Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh.