Isle of Capri
asks to move boat
October 13
Last
week, Isle of Capri
Casinos sent a request
to the state gambling
regulators asking
permission to move one
of its two riverboats
near Lake Charles to a
site in the New Orleans
area located on
the Mississippi River.
In t
he
proposal filed with the
Louisiana Gaming Control
Board, Isle of Capri Casinos
the Crown riverboat would be
moved from Westlake to a
site in Jefferson Parish
near the Huey P. Long
Bridge.
The
project would bring in 500
jobs, the company said.
The
move, which also has to be
permitted by Jefferson
Parish voters, would bring a
fourth riverboat casino into
the New Orleans gambling
market. The market also has
Harrah's land casino in
downtown New Orleans. The
New Orleans Fair Grounds is
also waiting to get a
slot-machine casino.
In the
Lake Charles vicinity, where
gaming competition is
fierce, Isle of Capri is
already competing with a
complex owned by Harrah's
Entertainment Inc. that
houses two boats, a slot
machine casino at Delta
Downs and an Indian
reservation casino at
Kinder. Next year, Pinnacle
Entertainment Inc. is
preparing to open a
riverboat casino in that
same area.
Isle of Capri is interested
in moving to the New Orleans
area because it feels the
market is larger there.
