Louisiana makes the dockside status of all riverboats official

Alan Sayre

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 11:15 a.m.

Riverboat status line By the Associated Press Here is a rundown of Louisiana's 14th riverboat casinos and how their dockside status changed:

Had dockside gambling under 1991 legislation

* Shreveport-Bossier City -- Harrah's, Hollywood, Horseshoe, Isle of Capri, Casino Magic

Received dockside gambling effective April 1

* Lake Charles -- Isle of Capri (two boats), Harrah's (two boats)

* Baton Rouge -- Casino Rouge, Argosy

* New Orleans and suburbs -- Bally's, Treasure Chest, Boomtown Belle

Tax rates on gambling winnings for riverboat casinos, effective April 1:

* All boats outside Shreveport-Bossier City go from 18.5 percent to 21 percent.

* The boats in Shreveport-Bossier City will begin paying a 19.5 percent tax rate Sunday. That goes up to 20.5 percent in 2002 and and 21.5 percent in 2003.

NEW ORLEANS -- Gamblers at nine of Louisiana's riverboat casinos probably will notice no major change this week, unless they happen to be attracted to the casino's party to celebrate it.

Effective Sunday, all of Louisiana's riverboat casinos are dockside -- officially. No more of those on-again, off-again cruises that once were supposed to be the boats' mainstay.

In fact, it became illegal for the boats to leave the dock, not as if that disappointed any of the casino operators. From the time that the first riverboats opened in 1994, they complained that cruising put them at a competitive disadvantage with dockside casinos in Mississippi and three Indian casinos in Louisiana.

"We're having a locked-at-the-dock party Saturday night," said Carol Collins, a spokeswoman for the Isle of Capri, which operates a two-boat complex in Lake Charles.

The dockside law, along with tax increases for all 14 riverboats, is effective Sunday. The change was approved by the Legislature in March, along with a bailout deal for Harrah's New Orleans Casino in New Orleans, which Gov. Mike Foster said was needed to provide money for teacher pay raises.

Until now, only the five boats on the Red River in Shreveport-Bossier City were allowed to stay at the dock. The others were supposed to take periodic cruises. But leaving the dock became relatively sporadic for most of the boats because ship captains could stay dockside for almost any safety or weather reason.

Not any longer. What became unofficial dockside gambling is now mandatory.

The Lake Charles riverboat market, which competes with the Coushatta's reservation casino for southwestern Texas gamblers, believes it has a lot to gain, especially with a slot-machine casino planned for the near future at nearby Delta Downs in Vinton.

"One of the main things we've had to do is get the information out to the public that we're not cruising anymore," Collins said. Dockside "came very quickly and we weren't expecting it to go into effect that soon. We had to let people know locally, but particularly in the Texas market."

Joe Cironi, president of the Lake Charles Chamber of Commerce, also said dockside gambling likely will improve the chance of Pinnacle Entertainment landing the state's 15th and final riverboat license.

Pinnacle has two competitors for the license, which is tentatively scheduled to be issued in May. The company is planning a $200 million resort, including a hotel and golf course on leased property from the Port of Lake Charles.

"Before, there was the chance that they might put in a boat, sail it and see how things went," Cironi said. "If they don't have to worry about sailing, that will enhance their chances of success."

Cironi said the existing two-boat complexes, including Harrah's Lake Charles, also are likely to invest more in their operations.

Dockside wagering won't have any effect on employment, except in the upward direction, Collins said. The Isle is likely to add some more workers to its staff of 2,200 if the crowds live up to expectations, she said.

"It will definitely put us on a more-even playing field with the Indian casino," Collins said. "We don't know to what degree it will play out, but we do anticipate an increase in business."

The question of how much extra money dockside gambling will be bring in concerns the Public Affairs Research Council, a private government watchdog group. PAR president Jim Brandt said he believes the state is counting too much on projections that money will increase as much as 17.5 percent -- especially since many of the boats only cruised occasionally.

"We thought the numbers were on the high side," Brandt said. "It was part of the objection for using gambling money for teacher pay increases. We don't consider gambling revenue to be a stable source of revenue."

Also, if Texas clears the way for Indian casinos in the eastern part of the state, the Lake Charles and Shreveport-Bossier City markets are likely to see revenue reductions, Brandt said. The Texas Legislature is considering such a bill.

Meanwhile, the three boats in New Orleans and its suburbs also will be going dockside full-time, which operators have said will put them in a better position against Harrah's New Orleans Casino in downtown New Orleans and the dockside casino resorts on the Mississippi coast.

Mississippi casino operators didn't appear to be worried about the change.

"We are not concerned about Louisiana. We've had dockside gaming in Mississippi since 1992 and we are very comfortable where we are," said Bill Kilduff, general manager of the Isle of Capri-Biloxi.