Penn to Spend $195m Moving Its New Orleans Riverboat Ashore

Penn Entertainment will invest $195 million to move its Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans riverboat onto land, building a 145,000 square foot venue adjacent to the current berth. Subject to approval from state gaming regulators, the new Hollywood Casino New Orleans would open in 2029.

"The new Hollywood Casino New Orleans will represent our fourth landside move in recent years, following the recent openings of Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet in Illinois and the expected opening of Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs in Iowa in 2028," said Penn president and chief executive Jay Snowden. "As with our previous relocations, we expect our new facility to enhance the customer experience and strengthen the property's competitive position in the New Orleans market."

The relocation is possible because of a 2018 Louisiana law letting riverboat licence holders move inland, provided the new venue stays within 1,200 feet, about a quarter of a mile, of the original berth. Penn plans to fund the project from cash on hand but "may also access its balance sheet or other sources of liquidity".

The "second New Orleans casino" framing needs a caveat. Boomtown has carried the city's name since opening in 1994 but sits in Harvey, roughly five miles south across the Mississippi. Even so, it is far closer to the French Quarter than most competitors, and a larger land-based venue puts more direct pressure on Harrah's New Orleans.

Penn acquired Boomtown through its $2.8 billion cash and stock purchase of Pinnacle Entertainment in 2018, and runs four other Louisiana casinos: L'Auberge resorts in Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, plus Margaritaville Resort Casino and Boomtown Casino Hotel in Bossier City. Boyd Gaming announced a brick-and-mortar development for its Amelia Belle riverboat earlier this month.

Elsewhere in North American casino development, Bally's has paused work on the amenities around its $1.7 billion Chicago project in a dispute over video gambling terminals, and Ontario has ended casino exclusivity in the Niagara region.