Casino, racino La.’s top earners (7/22)

Posted July 22, 2009 at 12:28 am
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By HECTOR SAN MIGUEL
AMERICAN PRESS

The L’Auberge du Lac casino-resort in Lake Charles and the slots parlor at Delta Downs racetrack in Vinton reign as the state’s top gambling moneymakers, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Gaming Control Board.

Of the state’s 14 floating casinos, L’Auberge du Lac reported the most in gross revenue from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, the data show.

The casino reportedly took in $329,741,719 in gross revenue in the past year — an increase of more than $6.1 million over the year before. The board’s report shows it had more than 4.4 million patrons, excluding people who may have frequented only the casino’s hotel or restaurants.

The Horseshoe casino in Bossier City is the only riverboat in the state that generated gross revenue close to that of L’Auberge. Horseshoe reportedly took in $264,260,745 and saw more than 2.2 million patrons.

Even though this riverboat casino took in less revenue than L’Auberge, it had a higher win amount — the average amount lost by a gambler — than did the Lake Charles resort. Horsehoe’s win is $110 per patron; L’Auberge’s is $74, according to reports.

Pinnacle Entertainment, which owns L’Auberge, is moving ahead on its next Lake Charles casino-resort project — Sugarcane Bay. The $407 million Caribbean-themed resort will be built next door to L’Auberge.

Construction on the 400-room hotel and riverboat casino project could start as early as next month. Work is under way on an entrance road and other infrastructure.

The L’Auberge resort and the proposed Sugarcane Bay site are both on Port of Lake Charles property north of Interstate 210.

The Isle of Capri’s two riverboats on Lake Charles reported gross revenues for the past year of $152,612,786. They had total admissions of more than 2.3 million patrons for the same period.

The Grand Palais reportedly took in the most money and visitors among the two riverboats — $128,769,083 and more than 1.7 million patrons.

Figures show that the smaller Isle of Capri riverboat had gross revenues of $23,843,703, with admission at 594,294 — the lowest totals among the state’s riverboat casinos.

This month, the Isle of Capri on Lake Charles celebrated its 14th anniversary, and it remains the Isle of Capri’s flagship facility, generating more money than any of the St. Louis-based company’s 13 other U.S. casino operations.

Since it opened its doors, it has reportedly had more than 37 million visitors and generated more than $581 million in state and local taxes and a $582 million payroll. It has made capital investments exceeding $237 million in its 14 years, according to the company.

The two-riverboat casino complex is on a 19-acre site just south of I-10 near Westlake.

All three riverboat casinos reported a drop in revenue for June compared with May, the data show. The decrease occurred because there were five weekends in May and four in June.

The Delta Downs slots parlor generated more gross revenue than the state’s other three racetrack casinos — Harrah’s Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Evangeline Downs in Opelousas and the Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Reports show that in the past year the Vinton track-casino complex took in gross revenues of $179,412,015, with admissions at more than 1.6 million patrons.

Fifteen percent of the slots money is used to fund racing purses for the track. Two percent of the revenue goes to the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and 1 percent goes to the Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association.

Evangeline Downs reported higher admissions than Delta Downs for the past year, with more than 2.3 million visiting, the figures show.

The Delta Downs slots parlor win, at $109 per patron, was still higher than that of Evangeline Downs, which recorded $43 per patron.

Reports show Delta Downs paid out more than $27.2 million to the state in gambling taxes.

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