Horseshoe looking at casino expansion in Lake Charles

Friday, May 22, 1998 | 11:23 a.m.

Unlike Shreveport-Bossier, however, Lake Charles faces stiff competition from a land casino on a nearby Indian reservation.

According to a plan presented Thursday to the Lake Charles Dock Board, Horseshoe would build a $135 million casino-hotel complex, including a golf course, on property owned by the Port of Lake Charles.

There is one vacant riverboat license in Louisiana, which limits the number of floating casinos to 15. Lake Charles-Westlake has a pair of two-boat complexes, the Isle of Capri and Players International.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board has set a July 18 deadline for applications for the vacant license.

The complex would mean up to 2,500 jobs, said port attorney Mike Dees.

Dees said Horseshoe President Paul Alanis was in Lake Charles last week and met with Lake Charles Mayor Willie Mount, Calcasieu Parish Administrator Mark McMurry and Dees.

However, Dees said Horseshoe also plans to apply for a second boat in Bossier City.

Dees said Horseshoe's recent addition of a hotel in Bossier City boosted its market position.

"They think the Gaming Control Board will be looking to do the same thing in Lake Charles so the Texas market potential can be fully met," Dees said.

A similar plan for Lake Charles was considered earlier by Mirage Resorts, which dropped out.

Currently, the four-boat Lake Charles-Westlake market typically wins $23 million-$25 million monthly from gamblers, while the Shreveport-Bossier City market, which also has four boats, has gone as high as $50 million.

The difference has been the Grand Casino on the Coushatta Indian reservation at Kinder, which does not have to publicly report its monthly winnings. Analysts have estimated that the casino wins up to $40 million per month.

When Mirage was interested in the same site in 1995, it estimated that its resort would attract about 3 million people a year and generate annual revenue of about $200 million.

However, industry analyst Larry Pearson questioned whether Horseshoe could expect such revenue.

"Frankly, most of the revenue in that market has been going to the Coushattas," said Pearson, publisher of the Riverboat Gaming Report. "The Coushattas continue to expand with their new hotel and other amenities. I'm not sure there's room for another boat to compete in Lake Charles."