Ground recently was broken for the $270 million transformation of the former Diamond Jacks Casino property in Bossier City, Louisiana, which closed in 2020.
Now owned by the Cordish Companies of Baltimore, the property will carry the company’s flagship brand Live! Casino and Resort when it opens in early 2025.
Jon Cordish, principal, vice president and director of finance, said, “I guarantee you this is going to be game-changing and set a new standard in the market. It’s going to have a quality and energy that when you walk into this property, you’ll feel like you’re in a premier casino and resort in the top gaming markets, including Las Vegas.”
The venue will offer a sports and social sports bar and restaurant curated by James Beard Award nominee Chef John Suley, the PBR Cowboy Bar, Luk Fu, featuring Southeast Asia cuisine and an as-yet unbranded fine dining steakhouse.
Rob Norton, Cordish president of gaming, said the project will create 750 construction jobs and 750 permanent jobs. “It will bring economic opportunities for all involved,” he said.
Bossier City Mayor Thomas Chandler said the casino project is “the largest venture that has happened in our area in a long time.” State Rep. Sam Jenkins, who was elected to the state Senate last month, added the number of new jobs created by the project “will be transformational.”
Louisiana Gaming Commission Chairman Ronnie Johns said he believes Cordish’s project will turn around the struggling Shreveport-Bossier gambling market. “There’s no doubt the gaming market in Shreveport-Bossier has a bright future. To see this happening today is incredible,” he said.
Cordish has already dismantled and hauled away the old riverboat casino at the Bossier City location. Its new Live! Casino will be the first land-based operation in the Shreveport-Bossier market.
Cordish operates casinos in Maryland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa and Hollywood, Florida.
