When looked on Ye Olde Same Store Basis, gaming revenues in Louisiana are good enough, up 4%. Add Tilman Fertitta‘s Golden Nugget Lake Charles to the mix and revs shoot up 17%. No, 
that’s not a typo. The Nugget is proving to be the perfect confluence of owner, location and timing. It’s also a rising tide that’s lifting L’Auberge Lake Charles, up 6.5% ($28 million). Golden Nugget pulled in $23 million and even stimulated business at Delta Downs (+4.5%) and Isle Grand Palais (+6%), as the Lake Charles market completely eclipsed New Orleans, $78 million to $47 million. For someone who was mocked as a naif when he bought the Las Vegas Golden Nugget, Fertitta has proven himself to be a natural for the casino business. (Contrast Fertitta to Gary Loveman, who had two casino licenses in the Lake Charles market and chose to liquidate them … and still has a job.)
Pinnacle Entertainment‘s L’Auberge Baton Rouge continued to put distance between itself and the competition, grossing $13 million (+1.5%), although more modest gains were 
made by Tropicana Entertainment‘s Belle of Baton Rouge ($5 million, +5.5%) and GLPI‘s Hollywood Baton Rouge ($5 million, 2%). In the Big Easy, Harrah’s New Orleans far outgrossed the rest of the market ($26 million), despite a 2% slippage. Its competitors’ gains came in various sizes, from a modest 2% aboard Pinnacle’s Boomtown New Orleans to 12% at Boyd Gaming‘s Treasure Chest ($8 million), with Churchill Downs‘ Fair Grounds racino growing 9% on a $4 million gross.
Two outlying Boyd properties fared well. Amelia Belle‘s $4 million represented a 12% growth in business, while Evangeline Downs took in $8 million for a 15%.
In the crowded Shreveport/Bossier City market, Horseshoe Bossier City was king of the castle, with a $16 million gross, despite a 5% slippage. That wasn’t nearly as bad as the 14% tumble taken by Sam’s Town Shreveport or even the 8% dropoff at Caesars Entertainment‘s Louisiana Downs. Rising 27% on a $12 million gross was Margaritaville, while El Dorado Shreveport‘s $11 million haul was good for an 8% gain. There’s plenty of vitality in Louisiana’s major casino markets (with the possible exception of Baton Rouge) but, from here on out, Lake Charles is where it’s at.
* Elsewhere, Loveman continues to stiff-arm disenfranchised creditors. Wilmington Savings Fund Society filed a demand for immediate restitution of $3.8 billion in debt. In a “Dear John” letter to the SEC, Caesars told Wilmington to bugger off.
* In its attempt to diversify its economy, Atlantic City is importing a bit of Las Vegas and a touch of the Fremont Street Experience. The city has approved an extension of Steel Pier to hold a Ferris wheel, along with a zip line. Anything that gives people a new reason to visit Atlantic City is a good thing.
