A groundbreaking was recently held in Kenner, Louisiana for Boyd Gaming’s new $100 million, land-based Treasure Chest casino, which will replace the riverboat venue in early 2024.
The new facility will offer a 47,000-square-foot casino floor, twice the size of the riverboat’s, plus several restaurants and bars, a FanDuel sportsbook and 10,000 square feet of convention space. Mayor Michael Glaser said, “With the new set-up, we anticipate increased revenue to the residents of the city of Kenner, which will aid in capital projects. This is a wonderful day in Kenner.”
The Treasure Chest is one of the first riverboat casinos that will move to land under a 2018 law allowing the change. It’s expected to open in late 2023 or early 2024, said Boyd Gaming President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith. “With this project, we’ll be taking the Treasure Chest to a new level, and with it, our investment in this great community,” Smith said.
The project will be built on the riverboat casino’s parking lot; a new one for riverboat customers to use during construction is nearly finished.
The land-based Treasure Chest will be part of a new entertainment destination planned for Kenner’s Laketown area. Last year, Las Vegas-based Atlantis Gaming announced plans for a new 40-acre resort in Laketown, including shopping, condos and possibly gaming.
Atlantis Gaming President and Chief Executive Officer Donald Bailey said the company is negotiating with the state about securing a lake-bottom lease on Lake Pontchartrain; a portion of the facility would be built over water on eight specially constructed concrete barges. Glaser said Atlantis officials told him the project would cost $700 million.
Opened in 1994, the Treasure Chest riverboat casino has generated millions of dollars in revenue and has provided major funding for capital projects in Kenner. Jefferson Parish Council Member Dominick Impastato noted, “Literally every citizen in the city of Kenner benefits from the success of the Treasure Chest.”
