Backed by 56% of local voters, Pinnacle Entertainment has received the green light for its “Riviere” project in East Baton Rouge. No doubt this means some long faces at Penn National and Columbia Sussex, both of which mounted a full-bore effort aimed at keeping Pinnacle out. But voters weren’t swayed. Pinnacle’s promise to bear the cost of infrastructure burdens surely didn’t hurt, either.
At least one competitor isn’t taking this lying down. Columbia Sussex is reportedly mulling a plan to yank its Amelia Belle (formerly the Belle of New Orleans) from Amelia, La., and re-berth it in Baton Rouge, displacing the smaller Belle of Baton Rouge. As for what Columbia Sussex would do with its Amelia license, that remains to be seen.
