In Louisiana, the firm behind Bossier City’s DiamondJacks Casino Hotel has reportedly unveiled a plan that would see the riverboat venue relocate almost 300 miles southeast to a Tangipahoa Parish site near the small city of Hammond.
According to a Saturday report from the Associated Press news service published by the New Jersey Herald newspaper, casino operator Peninsula Pacific revealed that the move would allow the property “to capture some of the gambling traffic that currently goes to” rival venues in the neighboring state of Mississippi.
“We want to bring it to a place where we can recapture some of the migration that is going to Mississippi,” Brent Stevens, Manager for Peninsula Pacific, reportedly told local television broadcaster WBRZ-TV.
Los Angeles-headquartered Peninsula Pacific reportedly announced that it hopes to spend approximately $100 million in order to build the new venue in a rural part of Tangipahoa Parish complete with a 27,000 sq ft casino offering around 800 slots alongside about 25 gaming tables. It purportedly detailed that it wants the relocated property to moreover feature some 200 hotel rooms as well as an outdoor and indoor events center, a fishing dock and a farmers’ market buffet.
As part of its plan for the new casino, which is subject to legislative and voter approvals, Peninsula Pacific has additionally reportedly applied for permission from the United States Army Corps of Engineers for the right to build a pair of retention ponds that could mitigate a 200-year flood event.
Although the current location of DiamondJacks Casino Hotel is in the center of a region of almost 447,000 people, it shares this area with three prestigious rivals including the Harrah’s Louisiana Downs and the Horseshoe Bossier City. Stevens reportedly declared that new venue would create some 500 full-time jobs with average starting salaries of around $35,000.
Should it not be given permission to relocate its casino license to Tangipahoa Parish, Peninsula Pacific reportedly stated that it would look to expand its existing DiamondJacks Casino Hotel operation.