While the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana may not be equipped with all the bells and whistles of your Las Vegas mega-resort, it offers something to neighboring Texans that Las Vegas can’t: geographical proximity. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people flock across the state border to Louisiana by buses and cars alike to gamble.
Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, along with state and local officials, cut the ribbon on the awe-inspiring new casino two weeks ago. With a backdrop of smiling showgirls donned in yellow feathers, Mayor Randy Roach welcomed in his “friends across the river,” a statement, which drew loud, cheers from the crowd on hand. This marks Fertitta’s fifth casino since taking over Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel properties in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada nine years ago.
When the property became available, Fertitta immediately hopped on a plane over to Vegas offering a $50 million nonrefundable deposit to then-owner Ameristar. Fertitta considers Louisiana and Texas “almost as one,” and says, “You don’t notice when you cross the line and people are the same. It’s in the South; everyone’s nice.”
The $700-million investment is off to a good start, as his 740-room hotel was fully booked on opening night. Chad Beynon, a gaming analyst for Macquarie Securities, considers Lake Charles to be a rather healthy market, at least in terms of casino visitors, but is concerned with an over-saturation of casinos. The L’Auberge Casino Resort, which opened in 2005, and is owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, declined an opportunity to build on the Golden Nugget location a few years back. Instead, Pinnacle has invested $100 million over the past three years on L’Auberge.
Beynon feels Louisiana can benefit much in the same as Las Vegas, by having a cluster of casinos. Fertitta and Pinnacle feel the same way, as a boardwalk and walkway connecting the two casinos is currently underway. Wade Duty, executive director of the Louisiana Casino Association is a bit more skeptical. “You’ll never know how much it will grow the market and how much it will cannibalize the market,” he said, before suggesting it would take at least a year to have an understanding of this effect.
What Duty does like however, is Fertitta’s diligent work at making this Golden Nugget look and feel like a Las Vegas resort. Large retail space, a casino-style buffet, and high-end dining options are what sold him.
This property brings the total number of authorized casinos up to 16 in Louisiana. However, Harrah’s in New Orleans is the only casino not required to be on an approved body of water. Due to the law, both the Golden Nugget and L’Auberge come equipped with a steering wheel and propellers, even though neither building is capable of navigation.
