River City Casino was a twin riverboat casino complex (Grand Palais and Crescent City Queen) in New Orleans, Louisiana, located one block upriver from New Orleans Morial Convention Center.
- The zest of New Orleans infuses the Treasure Chest Casino, and the vibrant atmosphere of famous events and destinations like Las Vegas, the Caribbean, and Mardi Gras are reflected throughout the riverboat. Located in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, Treasure Chest features 24,000 square feet of dockside casino action along Lake Pontchartrain.
- Dec 17, 2020 The three New Orlea ns area riverboat casinos posted a 29.3% drop in revenue. Boomtown New Orleans had a 23.7% drop to $7 million from $9.2 million. Winnings at the Amelia Belle were down 33% from.
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We have a huge land-based casino in the heart of downtown New Orleans - Harrah's. If you really want to experience a riverboat, we have two in the suburbs: Treasure Chest in Kenner (near the airport) and Boomtown in Harvey, across the river. Keep in mind they stay docked, so each may as well be land-based!
It was the brainchild of Christopher Hemmeter (operating the Grand Palais riverboat) with a 50/50 joint venture with Capital Gaming International (operating the Crescent City Queen riverboat). The two riverboat complex partially circumvented Louisiana state law (repealed in 2001) requiring riverboat gaming vessels to make the required 90-minute cruise once every three-hour period weather permitting. There would always be at least one vessel docked while the other would sail so patrons would never have to wait in line to board a gaming vessel. The riverboats opened for only nine weeks from March 29 - June 13, 1995.[1] The terminal building complex was still in the ongoing interior construction phase when casino revenue was far below projections, additional funding was not secured and work was abruptly halted with construction tools, blueprints and materials left in place.
Gambling In New Orleans Louisiana
Bankruptcy[edit]
The riverboats and its licenses were eventually sold off and transferred to other companies. Isle of Capri in Lake Charles acquired the Grand Palais (with license) in 1996. Isle's parent company, Casino America paid $55 million for the Grand Palais Riverboat in January 1996, with a package of cash, notes, stock, warrants, and by assuming $10 million of Grand Palais' existing liabilities.[2]Boomtown New Orleans acquired the Crescent City Queen riverboat without license in 1998 (renamed as Boomtown Belle II) to replace the smaller Boomtown Belle riverboat. Crescent City Queen's gaming license was transferred in 1996 to Casino Magic, which then operated a docked riverboat casino in Bossier City, later renamed Boomtown Bossier City. Boomtown's parent company, Pinnacle Entertainment revived the River City Casino name for its newest property in the St. Louis, Missouri area when it opened in March 2010.
Current status of riverboat terminal complex[edit]
After being shuttered since its closure in June 1995, the terminal building complex was acquired by Mardi Gras World owner Barry Kern in early 2008 and became one of the venue offerings of Mardi Gras World (New Orleans tour attraction and events venue).[3][4][5] The acquisition more than quadrupled Mardi Gras World's event space. After more than 13 years of dormancy, the River City Complex finally saw new life during the Krewe of Boo inaugural parade on Halloween night 2008. It was also the site of the Gulf Aid benefit concert with Lenny Kravitz as the headlining act during the BP oil spill crisis on May 16, 2010. Since then, the River City Complex has become New Orleans' premiere event venue and has hosted events for the NFL, Microsoft, Lexus and more.
In popular culture[edit]
The Crescent City Queen riverboat was featured in an episode of the USA Network TV series The Big Easy in 1996 while it was still docked at the shuttered River City Casino terminal complex. The interior of the CCQ was also used in the pilot episode of the short lived CBS TV series Orleans starring Larry Hagman in 1997. In the movie Déjà Vu, the white terminal complex could be briefly seen in the background with a cruise ship docked next to it in the scene where Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer investigate the Canal Street Ferry explosion underneath the Crescent City Connection bridge.
References[edit]
New Orleans Riverboat
- ^http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1995/b3446105.arc.htm
- ^Jones, Dow (3 January 1996). 'COMPANY NEWS;CASINO AMERICA TO BUY ANOTHER RIVERBOAT CASINO'. New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ^http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/01/mardi_gras_world_plans_expansi.html
- ^http://wwl.com/pages/1957621.php?
- ^http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2009/01/blaine_kern_studios_will_open.html
External links[edit]
- Hemmeter Companies > River City past project portfolio
- New Orleans Virtual Archive: River City Casino (Tulane University School of Architecture)
- River City Casino: Grand Palais casino chips (ChipGuide.com)
- River City Casino: Crescent City Queen casino chips (ChipGuide.com)
- Satellite view of the former River City Casino riverboat terminal complex in New Orleans, Louisiana (Google Maps)
- Satellite view of the Grand Palais riverboat (now docked at The Isle of Capri Lake Charles Casino in Westlake, Louisiana) (Google Maps)
- Satellite view of the former Crescent City Queen riverboat (now docked at Boomtown New Orleans Casino as Boomtown Belle II in Harvey, Louisiana) (Google Maps)
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — A proposed casino site on the Mississippi Gulf Coast does not meet state standards for where casinos are allowed to locate, the state Supreme Court ruled.
Mississippi law specifies that state-regulated casinos can only locate along the Mississippi River or on the Gulf Coast. The original law required casinos to be over water. After Hurricane Katrina hurled massive casino barges onto land in 2005, legislators modified the law to allow casinos on the coast to develop a short distance inland but only if other parts of the resort development touch water.
Ray Wooldridge, a former owner of the New Orleans Hornets NBA team, started trying in 2008 get approval for a casino site that's a bit inland in Biloxi, using the business name RW Development LLC.
The Mississippi Gaming Commission rejected the site in 2008, 2017 and 2019. RW Development appealed to the Harrison County Circuit Court, and a circuit judge affirmed the commission's decision in 2019. The company appealed to the state Supreme Court. The decision by justices Thursday was to affirm the circuit court ruling.
Ironman klagenfurt 2021 slots hawaii hi. The Sun Herald reported that Wooldridge built Big Play Entertainment Center at the site while he waited for permission to proceed with his plans for a casino. The complex now has bowling, miniature golf, laser tag and other family amusements.
