Foundation Gaming’s sale of the former Diamond Jacks Casino Resort in Bossier City, Louisiana to Baltimore-based Cordish Companies is expected to close in the fall, according to state officials.
Currently, the former Diamond Jacks hotel is being demolished and the former riverboat has been scrapped with remaining pieces to “be cut up and trucked out,” according to Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) Chairman Ronnie Johns.
Los Angeles-based Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (PPE) permanently closed Diamond Jacks during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. PPE tried to relocate its state gaming license to Slidell but voters in St. Tammany Parish rejected that plan in a local referendum.
In May 2022, Mississippi-based Foundation Gaming, owner of the Fitz Tunica and WaterView Casino in Vicksburg, agreed to purchase the deteriorating property for an undisclosed sum and announced a $200 million renovation. However, in April, Foundation unexpectedly said it would sell the property and license to Cordish for an undisclosed price.
The Louisiana State Police is in the process of conducting a suitability investigation of Cordish and its top officials, as required before the LGCB can approve the sale.
“There’s no doubt Cordish will be approved. The company’s record is impeccable,” Johns told USA Today. He said he expects the state police’s results soon and to formally approve Cordish’s acquisition of Diamond Jacks in the fall. Then, he said, Cordish could break ground next year on its $250 million land-based Bossier City casino resort early next year.
Cordish Gaming Chief Executive Officer Rob Norton said, “We plan to rebuild the event space and focus on bringing entertainment back to the market. We intend for it to be a game-changing project for the Bossier City market,” which has experienced steady declines in revenue in recent years.
Cordish operates casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania and entertainment districts in several states. Diamond Jacks will be the company’s first Louisiana property.
