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.