Hollywood Casino of Baton Rouge has gotten the green light to move its gaming facility on land, the casino owner Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. announced this morning.
The company plans to build a landside facility on its River Road property, with an estimated completion in early 2022 at a cost between $21 million and $25 million.
The project is expected to create 166 construction jobs, with total labor costs of approximately $10 million.
The new facility will feature indoor and outdoor gaming as well as a sports bar, an entertainment venue with 250 seats and a mezzanine overlooking the Mississippi River. There will also be a sports viewing area and flexible meeting space for up to 200 people.
“Our move landside is expected to contribute approximately $500 million of positive economic impact to the region in its first six years of operation and will provide our current and new guests with a state-of-the art gaming and entertainment destination in the city,” says Jeannie Magdefrau, general manager of Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge, in a prepared statement. “Further, by moving landside we can sell and/or move the boat to free up dock space so that we can increase visitation from what is an ever-expanding Mississippi River cruise business.”
Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken restaurant will also open in the landside facility. Founded by former NBA and LSU basketball legend O’Neal, Big Chicken is a fast-casual restaurant offering fried chicken, barbecue and “adult milkshakes.” O’Neal opened his first Big Chicken in Las Vegas in 2018 and has since opened a second location in California.
With the announcement, Hollywood Casino will be the first riverboat casino in Louisiana to take advantage of legislation passed in 2018 allowing riverboat casinos to move on land. The proposals were recommended by the Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Task Force in hopes that it could spur investments into the state’s properties.
At the time of the bill’s passage, only the Belle of Baton Rouge executives publicly commented on the possibility of moving the casino’s gaming operations onto land. Since then, the casino’s ownership has changed and it’s unclear whether the option is still being considered for the Belle.
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