Pinnacle Casino set to move forward
From The Advocate:
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. officials testified Tuesday that all permitting and financing is proceeding on time and the company should soon be able to break ground on Baton Rouge’s third gambling casino, perhaps in May.
Cliff Kortman, Pinnacle’s president of design and construction, told the Louisiana Gaming Control Board that the company had addressed many of the concerns raised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and expected approval of that key permit. Officials with other government agencies have indicated that they would give their permission to proceed pending the corps approval, he said.
The corps regulates construction near and around levees. Pinnacle plans to build a complex that crosses the Mississippi River levee off Nicholson Drive near Gardere Lane.
As announced previously, the Baton Rouge project will include a new single-level riverboat casino; a 100-room hotel; a mix of restaurants and lounges; and an entertainment venue. Pinnacle has spent more than $20 million on the Baton Rouge project so far, the official with the Las Vegas-based company disclosed to the board.
Pinnacle has received proposals to build the boat on which the casino will sit and has been meeting with contractors bidding to build the complex, Kortman said. Final bids from the competing construction contractors should be received by March 24, he said.
Once the permits and contracts are in place, the Gaming Control Board must give its approval before construction can start, Kortman said.
“We anticipate that we will have everything we need for the board in April,” Kortman said. Construction would begin within 30 days of the board’s approval.
“You’re right on target,” said Dane K. Morgan, who chairs the nine-member panel that oversees gambling activities and businesses in Louisiana.
Pinnacle has delayed the Baton Rouge complex three times because of credit market conditions, most recently in October, when the board gave the company until the end of April to let construction contracts.
The Gaming Control Board then voted without dissent to let Pinnacle seek up to $250 million in loans to finance the Baton Rouge project and one in Lake Charles. Pinnacle must first raise $100 million on its own before borrowing the additional funds.
The Lake Charles project, called Sugarcane Bay, is expected to be finished before the Baton Rouge complex. Sugarcane Bay, the sister property to the company’s L’Auberge du Lac casino resort, will include a new single-level riverboat casino; 400 guestrooms and suites; dining and lounge outlets; a multipurpose venue for entertainment and group meetings; and an expanded spa. Pinnacle reports estimate completion of the casino later this year with the hotel charted to open next year.
Tags: Baton Rouge, casino, gardere area, pinnacle casino in Baton Rouge