Schedule has River Road casino opening in late 2011

After nearly a year of delay because of the national freeze in credit markets, Pinnacle Entertainment's proposed casino resort on River Road has been put on a schedule that could see the riverboat open in late 2011. Without objection, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board today approved a revised development schedule for the $250 million plan after Pinnacle officials told regulators that financing would be available for the project. Earlier this year, the company said it could probably sell bonds, but high interest rates would make the project financially prohibitive. But Carlos Ruisanchez, Pinnacle's executive vice president for strategic planning and development, says the company recently sold about $450 million in bonds at just below 9% to get money for its $407 million Sugarcane Bay casino project in Lake Charles. Pinnacle officials say pile driving has started at the Sugarcane Bay site, which will be connected by a walkway to the company's successful L'Auberge du Lac casino-resort. Ruisanchez says the company successfully extended a major drawdown credit account that will provide funds for the Baton Rouge project. If the current schedule holds its timeline, both the riverboat and the site along the Mississippi River should be under construction in May.

State says it wasn’t obligated to regulate Stanford

The Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions says it is not obligated to take “any specific action in regulating a financial institution.” According to a petition filed by the office in response to the lawsuit filed by a group of Stanford Financial Group victims, any claims made against OFI are irrelevant because state law does not require the agency to protect investors. “The statues are worded in very broad, discretionary terms that require the Commissioner [of OFI] and his employees to use their judgment in pursuing or not pursuing a specific course of action,” says the petition.

The petition, which is a response to the class-action lawsuit filed by Phil Preis, a Baton Rouge-based attorney, on behalf of a large group of Louisiana-based investors who purchased Stanford International Bank certificates of deposit at the center of an alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme, was filed late Friday. It also claims that the state cannot be held responsible for the criminal acts of those it may regulate and that, even if the 19th Judicial District Court deems they are responsible, that the suit against them was filed too early. The plaintiffs, the lawsuit says, should have to wait until after it is determined if the wronged investors will receive any of their money back from the Stanford receiver before filing against the state.—Olivia Watkins

Wildgame Innovations signs deal with New Roads, Pointe Coupee Parish

A deer-feed maker received an endorsement from New Roads Mayor Tommy Nelson at a media event today for the company’s relocation to the city along the False River. Talking about Wildgame Innovations’ Acorn Rage deer-bait, Nelson said: “You put that stuff out, and they go crazy. I have the meat to prove it. It’s in my freezer.” Owners Matt and Ryan Busbice, brothers who absorbed a rival firm with 17 acres on Morganza Highway in New Roads and are consolidating operations there from Broussard, signed a deal today for $92,000 in “manufacturer funds” from the town and Pointe Coupee Parish to relocate an extruder. The device cooks and stabilizes acorns mixed with rice bran and soybean meal to give the deer-feed product an eight- to 14-month shelf life. Ryan Busbice says the company expects gross revenue this year of $18 million to $20 million. The consolidation will retain 33 local jobs and add 23 in the next three years, the company and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber say. “This incentive was all done locally,” says Scott Byrd, economic development director for the parish, noting that no state aid was involved. The Busbice brothers have stakes in a crossbow maker near Tampa and a company near Dallas that makes infrared cameras and other hunting gear; they say they are considering bringing those endeavors to New Roads. “This state is so driven on oil and gas,” Ryan Busbice says. “We’re trying to brings things to the state that are niche market.”—Todd R. Brown

Spanish Lake Basin independent review remains a mystery

LSU professors hired by The Shaw Group to study the Spanish Lake Basin have completed their work, but the highly sought-after results remain a mystery. Rachael Hunter, a professor in the School of Coast & Environment, confirmed she has completed an independent review of the Spanish Lake watershed water management plan created for the Pontchartrain Levee District. However, she declined to discuss the results, saying, “It is not mine to distribute.” Word is, however, that the professors recommend water be restored to the basin, which contradicts Shaw’s own theories. Both the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Alligator Bayou Tours—each of whom has sued to have the water restored—are trying to get their hands on the report, but, thus far, to no avail. Alligator Bayou Tours owner Frank Bonifay tells Daily Report that one of the researchers revealed that the independent review recommends that water be left in the bayou. Hunter, however, says the final report to the Pontchartrain Levee Board remains unfinished. She referred questions to Les Waguespack, who is overseeing the project for Shaw and previously has said the firm’s study will advocate draining the basin. Waguespack did not respond to an email query from Daily Report, and Shaw Group spokeswoman Gentry Brann referred questions to the Pontchartrain Levee Board. Efforts to reach executive director Monica Salins, board attorney Dwight Poirrier, board president Steven Wilson and Commissioner Jerry Savoy this morning were unsuccessful. The Spanish Lake Basin is at the center of a fight between Alligator Bayou Tours and several landowners who want to turn their property in the basin into a for-profit wetlands mitigation bank. To read more about the controversy, click here.—Penny Font

Kyle joins Southern Star Amusements as CFO

Former legislative auditor Dan Kyle has been named chief financial officer for Southern Star Amusement. Southern Star plans to build a Nickelodeon themed amusement park at the site of the old Six Flags in New Orleans East. As CFO, Kyle will oversee accounting practices for Southern Star, direct its financial strategy, and prepare budgets and audits. Danny Rogers, the amusement veteran who heads Southern Star, said Kyle is a "welcome addition" with a respected background in accounting and auditing. Kyle was legislative auditor for 14 years.

City Park area closed for 'Battle: Los Angeles'

As filming for Battle: Los Angeles continues across the city, streets around City Park and the Plank Road-Choctaw Drive intersection will be closed this week. Filming at Plank and Choctaw will close parts of Monroe Avenue, Hiawatha Street and Tecumseh Street from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday. Sections of East Lakeshore Drive between the City Park Golf Course and City Park Lake and from Robert Street to the lake will be closed from 10 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Saturday. There had been plans to film underneath Interstate 110 this week, a move that would have temporarily closed several ramps downtown. But producers have changed the schedule, city-parish officials say.

This story has been changed since it was first published

Maginnis: Obama makes short visit, but leaves big check

President Barack Obama was criticized for making a brief visit to New Orleans last week, but John Maginnis says it's a good thing the president didn't stay in Louisiana too long. "Had the president stayed overnight, he would have awoken to the headlines of the yahoo justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish who refused to marry interracial couples out of concern for the children of those unions," says Maginnis. Besides, the president's visit was overshadowed by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan's decision to release $600 million in additional grants for homeowners who faced a gap between Katrina/Rita Road Home grants and the inflated costs of repairing and rebuilding their houses. "That's how it works: presidents visit, cabinet secretaries bring checks," Maginnis says. Read the column here.

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)

La. casino revenue down 1.3% over year

Louisiana's state-licensed casinos came out of the year after the September 2008 financial meltdown not much worse for the wear—at least as far as taking in money from gamblers—and much better off than casinos in many other states. Figures released today by state police show that, from October 2008 through last month, the 13 riverboat casinos, Harrah's New Orleans casino and the four racetrack casinos took in just under $2.54 billion. That's only a tad off the $2.57 billion won from gamblers from October 2007 through September 2008. Among the state's competitive casino markets, Lake Charles saw a 6.3% gain, Shreveport-Bossier City was down 5.3%, New Orleans fell 5.2% and Baton Rouge recorded a drop of 1.8% in the year-to-year comparison. Shreveport-Bossier City and Lake Charles cater to gamblers from Texas. Casino revenue remained largely stable—far above most other casino states, such as New Jersey, Nevada and Mississippi that have seen double-digit drops—during a time when Louisiana's unemployment rate went from about 5% to nearly 8% and thousands of jobs were lost statewide. The revenue total was in line with that posted by the state during the last three October-through-September periods—around $2.5 billion. "There's probably more things positive happening in Louisiana gaming now than in most other states," says Steve Ruggiero, a casino industry analyst for CRT Capital Group.

Sports roundup: LSU women picked to win SEC basketball title ... Alex Box auction site up and running

Geaux Lady Tigers: The LSU women’s basketball team was predicted to win the 2009-10 Southeastern Conference championship in voting by a panel of regional and national media. The Lady Tigers return four starters from last year’s team, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They earned 206 points and 12 first-place votes, followed by Tennessee with 190 points and six first-place votes, Georgia with 156 points and one first-place vote, and Vanderbilt with 126 points and one first-place vote. Mississippi State (120) was picked fifth, followed by Florida (105), Arkansas (92), Auburn (85), Ole Miss (70), South Carolina (61), Kentucky (40) and Alabama (24). LSU senior guard Allison Hightower was voted the preseason player of the year. Hightower, who led the Lady Tigers in six categories and ranked fifth among SEC scoring leaders with a 14.9 average, is joined on the preseason all-conference first team by Georgia’s Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson, Mississippi State’s Alexis Rack and Tennessee’s Shekinna Stricklen. LSU’s LaSondra Barrett was a second-team selection.

Own a bit of history: LSU baseball fans will be able to buy everything from seats to infield dirt from the old Alex Box Stadium through a new memorabilia Web site. AlexBoxAuctions.net is a venture between the Tiger Athletic Foundation, which is in charge of handling the demolition of the ballpark, and Maxon Media. Proceeds from the auction will be split between the LSU athletic department and the academic side. Gold Seat holders will be able to buy their seats from the stadium for $500 each, while bleacher seats are available for $199 each.

'Real Estate Weekly' has news on Jamestown office sale

Real Estate Weekly is out with news about an office building on Jamestown Avenue being sold, a decline in East Baton Rouge Parish building permits, and the latest columns from Brian Andrews and Tom Cook. To read the newsletter, click here.

Court: Hospital closure suit belongs in B.R.

A lawsuit that claims Louisiana officials illegally decided to keep Charity Hospital in New Orleans closed after Hurricane Katrina must be decided in Baton Rouge, the state Supreme Court ruled today. The people who filed the lawsuit want it tried in New Orleans. But state officials wanted it moved to Baton Rouge and the high court agreed. The court says the decision to keep the hospital closed was an administrative decision of an agency headquartered in Baton Rouge — the LSU Board of Supervisors; therefore, the case must be tried there. Plaintiffs had argued that the decision was actually made in New Orleans by the chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center and others. The plaintiffs say legislative approval was needed to shutter the hospital.

News roundup: O'Keefe to head aerospace, defense firm ... Consultant recommends sweeping La. reorganization

New boss: Former LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe has been named CEO of EADS North America. O'Keefe, who was the head of NASA and a former Secretary of the Navy, will become head of the aerospace and defense firm effective Nov. 1. "Sean O'Keefe's distinguished career in government, industry and academia provide him with broad expertise and leadership experience," says EADS Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois.

Trimming down: The head of a government cost-cutting panel says a wide-ranging reorganization of state agencies would be difficult to do in the short time that Louisiana needs to slash its budget by nearly $1 billion. Sen. Jack Donahue, chairman of the Commission on Streamlining Government, says he likes ideas offered by Maurice McTigue, with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. But Donahue says there are questions about whether some of the suggestions would be allowed under Louisiana's constitution and whether the commission has enough time to comb through the more sweeping overhaul ideas. McTigue is suggesting creating new commerce and conservation departments that would consolidate agencies and strip much of the authority of the agriculture and insurance commissioners.

Are you the Fittest Exec in the Capital Region?

Think you are more fit than your peers? Business Report launches its second Fittest Execs competition, in which Capital Region business executives compete in four categories (men under 45, men over 45, women under 45 and women over 45). The competition is open to executives (C-level, president, vice president, owner, partner, executive director or retired executives) and mid-level managers. In addition, companies with a minimum of five participants are eligible for a team competition. Fitness appraisals will take place at Bally Total Fitness Baton Rouge through Nov. 20, with the results to be announced in the Dec. 29 issue of Business Report. The deadline to enter is Nov. 16. Click here to register or for more information.