Louisiana Gaming Board will hear riverboat bids July 26

Wednesday, June 21, 2000 | 8:15 a.m.

Board chairman Hillary Crain set a special meeting for July 26 for the applicants for the 15th license to present their projects. But Crain also noted that the number of applicants is now down by one.

"We received correspondence (Monday) of the withdrawal of Westbank Gaming LLC in their pursuit of the 15th license," said Sgt. Leland Falcon of the Louisiana State Police Gaming Licensing Unit.

The remaining applicants include:

- Louisiana Horizons, which wants to install a riverboat at Amelia near Morgan City.

- Horseshoe Casino, which wants to put in a riverboat on the west side of the Red River, across from its Bossier City property.

- Pinnacle Entertainment, formerly Hollywood Park, which has casino plans for the Lake Charles area. Pinnacle also owns Casino Magic and Boomtown casinos.

- Isle of Capri, which wants to add a riverboat in Chalmette. Isle of Capri also operates properties in Bossier City and Lake Charles.

The board also approved a name change for the two Lake Charles riverboats acquired by Harrah's.

Harrah's purchased Players International in March, and the purchase included the two-boat complex in Lake Charles. The company has started a $41 million capital improvements program and would like to replace one of the older riverboats in Lake Charles with a riverboat the company owns in Kansas City.

The company wants to operate both Lake Charles boats under the Harrah's banner, largely for marketing purposes.

The name change will go into effect in October, pending the board's approval of the substitute riverboat. Harrah's officials said the application for the replacement riverboat will be made within the next two weeks, possibly sooner.