Diamondjacks Casino has had the least revenue of the 6 full casinos in the Bossier City-Shreveport area.
Peninsula Pacific, a Los Angeles investment group, bought the Diamondjacks Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana this week. Peninsula did not disclose the sale price of Diamondjacks, which has been owned by its previous creditors since the casino emerged from bankruptcy in 2013.
There is a chance the new ownership could bring positive change to the Diamondjacks Casino, which is seen by many as the weakest business among the casinos in the area. If Peninsula Pacific invested in an expansion or major renovations, the gaming facility would be better able to draw customers.
Investor-Controlled Since 2013
When the investors took control of the operation in 2013, they had decided they would have a hard time recovering much of the $300 million they were owed, if they choose to liquidate assets in Louisiana and Mississippi. Thus, the investors have operated the casino in Northwest Louisiana, while occasionally selling off other Diamondjacks assets.
In 2015, the Vicksburg Diamondjacks was bought by Foundation Gaming. Foundaton renamed the gaming venue the WaterView Casino and Hotel. Currently, the new ownership is adding a 700-seat events center to the WaterView Casino complex.
M. Brent Stevens on Diamondjacks’s Future
Peninsula Pacific has brought in M. Brent Stevens, who is a veteran casino operator, to manage the property in Bossier City. Stevens said that Peninsinula bought the Diamondjacks’ debt late in 2015, but is taking over full operations now.
Brent Stevens said the new ownership group wants to renovate the property and improve operations. Diamondjacks is the operation which collects the lowest revenues among the six full-fledged casinos in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Mr. Stevens did not say whether Peninsula Pacific would rebrand the casino, or whether payroll would be cut.
About Bossier City
Bossier City is roughly 2 and 1/2 hours from Dallas, Texas. Many of the customers in the Northwest Louisiana casinos are from the DFW Metroplex, because the state of Texas bans all forms of land-based casino gambling.
For many years, riverboat casinos in Bossier City and nearby Shreveport generated nice revenues. When tribal casinos were built about an hour north of Dallas in the state of Oklahoma — the Winstar Casino in Thackerville and Choctaw Casino in Durant — the Louisiana casinos had to deal with stout new competition. Because the Oklahoma tribal casinos were closer to Dallas, they drew a lot of the customers from the Bossier City-Shreveport area.
Bossier City Gaming Facilities
These days, Bossier City is home to four casinos: Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Boomtwon Casino & Hotel, Margaritaville Resort Casino, and Diamondjacks. Harrah’s Louisiana Downs racetrack also is located in Bossier City.
Eight miles away in Shreveport, gamblers find Eldorado Resort Casino and Sam’s Town. A smaller venue, Cash Magic Shreveport (50 slots machines), also exists in Shreveport.
Louisiana Gambling Industry
In all, Louisiana has 68 different brick-and-mortar gambling facilities, including casinos, horse tracks, and off-track betting facilities. Due to state laws, the casinos must sit on a body of water, so they are riverboats moored to the banks of a river. This somewhat limits the size of the gaming facilities in Louisiana, though the riverboat gambler has been a staple of Louisiana gambling for nearly 2 centuries. In fact, gaming was popular in New Orleans before the United States owned the area. It was in Louisiana that craps (an old European game) first became a casino game.
Because of Louisiana’s significant gaming industry, daily fantasy sports is outlawed in the state. Before the Ethan Haskell scandal, Louisiana was one of only 5 US states which did not allow fantasy sports. That list included Utah and Hawaii, which ban all forms of gambling.
