DiamondJacks Casino in Bossier City could reopen in 2024

New owner Foundation Gaming is proposing a $200m renovation project for the casino.

US.- DiamondJacks Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, could reopen in 2024 following a $200m renovation project. New owner Foundation Gaming, which acquired the property from Pacific Peninsula Entertainment last May, is proposing a revamp before reopening the riverboat casino, which closed during the pandemic.

Foundation plans to present its project at the Louisiana Gaming Control Board’s December meeting. It will propose a full renovation of the hotel with its 560 guestrooms, meeting spaces, and restaurants. 

LGCB chairman Ronnie Johns told the Shreveport Times that Foundation’s DiamondJacks renovation plans could be approved during the December meeting. If the board greenlights the project, the construction would begin in early 2023 with a view to a spring 2024 opening.

DiamondJacks in Bossier City has been shut since May 2020. The casino laid off 349 employees and held a liquidation sale, offloading everything from kitchen and laundry equipment to flat-screen TVs and stage lights after P2E announced that it wouldn’t reopen the casino after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

P2E made a bid to relocate its licence, arguing that the Shreveport area casino market was oversaturated. However, in December, voters in Louisiana’s St Tammany Parish rejected a referendum that would have allowed that.

P2E originally had until February 9 to resume gaming operations at the Bossier City property or relinquish its licence, but it asked for and received an extension. In May, Foundation Gaming, a Mississippi-based company that buys and refurbishes distressed casino properties, acquired the venue. Foundation Gaming also wants to build a sportsbook.