Boyd Gaming Corporation announced Wednesday its plans to develop a new Treasure Chest Casino facility in Kenner, Louisiana. The company intends to replace the existing riverboat casino with a land-based gaming facility, which is expected to open in late 2023, with construction starting early this summer.
The existing Treasure Chest Casino has been docked on Lake Pontchartrain in Kenner since shortly after it opened in 1994. The property is now moving onto land as part of a $90 million expansion. The new casino will be built on the current site of the Treasure Chest’s parking lot, on the east side of Williams Boulevard inside the Lake Pontchartrain levee. It will be on one level with nearby parking, unlike the current setup, which requires customers to wait for a shuttle between the parking lot and the docked gambling boat.
The casino will feature a 47,000-square-foot casino, new restaurants and bars, nearly 10,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a FanDuel-branded sportsbook and parking directly adjacent to the casino entrance.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
There’s An All-New Treasure Chest Coming Soon! pic.twitter.com/oYPXsTRa0z— Treasure Chest (@tchestcasino) January 5, 2022
The move comes after the City Council renewed the lease last year for the caisno’s operator, Boyd Gaming. It was made possible by a 2018 Louisiana law that provides a process for floating casinos to move onto land.
In an official press release, the company’s president and CEO, Keith Smith said: “With this project, we are proud to reinvest in a community that has been an important part of the Boyd Gaming family for more than 27 years. The all-new Treasure Chest will bring more jobs, more tax revenue and more visitors for the City of Kenner and Jefferson Parish – and it will significantly enhance the Treasure Chest experience, giving our guests a bigger and better gaming entertainment experience than ever before.”
Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn added: “Treasure Chest has been an invaluable corporate and community partner in Kenner for 27 years. Treasure Chest continues to help support our Police Department, City Council districts and our capital projects and debt reduction funds. But more than that, Treasure Chest and Boyd Gaming support our community in many other important ways – both big and small – such as the recent $50,000 donation to the Kenner Food Bank. We are thrilled their move on-land will be happening soon and are confident this expansion will bring an exciting future in Kenner, a continued partnership and great success.”
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/01/06/60829-louisiana-boyd-to-move-treasure-chest-riverboat-casino-onto-land-as-part-of-expansion
