Margaritaville Resort Casino

Margaritaville Resort Casino is a casino hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment, and uses its name under license from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

For other Margaritaville-branded casinos, see Margaritaville Casino.
Margaritaville Resort Casino
The exterior of the casino hotel as seen in 2015.
Location Bossier City, Louisiana
Address 777 Margaritaville Way
Opening dateJune 13, 2013
Total gaming space26,500 square feet (2,460 m2)
Casino typeRiverboat
OwnerVici Properties
Operating license holderPenn Entertainment
Coordinates32.515438°N 93.737054°W / 32.515438; -93.737054
Websitewww.margaritavillebossiercity.com

The casino has 26,500 square feet (2,460 m2) of gaming space with 1,200 slot machines and 50 table games.[1][2][3] The hotel has 395 rooms in an 18-story tower.[4][5]

History

Plans for the casino were first revealed in June 2011, when Isle of Capri Casinos announced an option agreement to sell one of its two riverboats in Lake Charles, along with the accompanying casino license, to developers who planned to move the license to Bossier City as part of a $170-million resort project.[6] The developers were Paul Alanis (owner of the Silver Slipper Casino in Mississippi) and William Trotter (former co-owner of Evangeline Downs racetrack and casino).[7][8][9] Alanis gave more details about the planned resort later that month, including that it would be affiliated with Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville brand.[8]

Voters in Bossier Parish approved the casino in a November 2011 election.[10] In February 2012, the developers completed their purchase of the Isle of Capri boat and license for $15 million, and construction began, with a Tutor Perini subsidiary as the general contractor.[11][12][13] The casino was built as a barge floating in a pool with 2 feet (0.6 m) of water pumped in from the Red River, to comply with Louisiana's riverboat casino law.[14] The project ultimately cost $205 million to develop.[5]

The casino opened for a one-day preview event on June 13, 2013, and then opened permanently two days later.[15][16]

In 2016, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians agreed to purchase the resort, which they planned to rename under their "Wind Creek" casino brand.[17] The sale was canceled, however, because of a dispute between the owners and Margaritaville Holdings regarding payments for the Margaritaville name.[18]

In 2019, Vici Properties bought the land and buildings for $261 million, while Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment) purchased the property's operating business for $115 million and leased it from Vici for $23 million per year.[19][20]

References
  1. "Penn National Gaming completes acquisition of Margaritaville Resort Casino operations" (Press release). Penn National Gaming. January 2, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-19 – via BusinessWire.
  2. "Slots". Margaritaville Resort Casino. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  3. "Table Games". Margaritaville Resort Casino. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  4. "Stay". Margaritaville Resort Casino. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  5. Courtney Heppe (June 10, 2013). "$205 million Bossier City casino set to open doors". Red River Radio. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  6. "Isle of Capri entertains option to sell one of its riverboats". KPLC-TV. June 15, 2011. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  7. Mike Hasten (August 19, 2011). "Margaritaville Casino OK'd". The Times. Shreveport, LA – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Jeffery Loftin (June 23, 2011). "New casino on track". Bossier Press-Tribune – via NewsBank.
  9. Amanda McElfresh (June 23, 2011). "Local firm approved for casino property". The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette, LA – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Isle of Capri's Crown Casino moving after measure approved in Bossier City". American Press. Lake Charles, LA. November 19, 2011 – via NewsBank.
  11. "Isle of Capri sells Lake Charles riverboat to Bossier City group". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, LA. AP. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  12. Amanda Crane (February 29, 2012). "Margaritaville on its way". Bossier Press-Tribune – via NewsBank.
  13. "Margaritaville Resort Casino selects a Tutor Perini Corporation subsidiary as general contractor" (Press release). Tutor Perini Corporation. February 22, 2012 – via NewsBank.
  14. Mike Hasten (June 13, 2013). "Changes in latitudes: Margaritaville Casino gets clearance to open". The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette, LA – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Ready to roll (the dice)". Bossier Press-Tribune. June 14, 2013 – via NewsBank.
  16. Carolyn Roy (June 12, 2013). "Margaritaville to open for 'sneak peek' on Thursday". KSLA-TV. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  17. Brad Harper (June 27, 2016). "Alabama tribe strikes deal to buy Margaritaville casino". The Times. Shreveport, LA. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  18. Vickie Welborn (April 24, 2017). "Margaritaville Casino ends merger with Alabama Indian tribe". KTBS-TV. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  19. Sarah Crawford (June 19, 2018). "Margaritaville Resort Casino sale is announced". Shreveport Times. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  20. Stacy Wescoe (January 3, 2019). "Penn National acquires Louisiana casino operations". Lehigh Valley Business. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
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