Margaritaville Casino

[dimebag1980]

I don't like discussing big projects before they happen anymore, due to past letdowns, but this one has me excited and I hope to see it happen. One of the partners in this project was instrumental in getting the huge Horseshoe Casino project built in Bossier, and now he wants to build a Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Casino in Bossier, next to the Louisiana Boardwalk. This would be awesome, to say the least! And it would add another 18-20 story hotel tower to our riverfront area.

Click here to see the Shreveport Times article.

[dimebag1980]

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Casino & Resort Bossier City cleared another hurdle the other day. State gaming regulators approved the project. Now it's up to the voters of Bossier Parish. And while I know the voters of Bossier Parish have approved many casino projects before this one, I just don't feel as confident this time around. From the online poll responses I've seen so far, most people think a Dave & Buster's would be a better fit for the Bossier riverfront. And while I agree a Dave & Buster's would be a good fit down there somewhere, you simply can NOT compare Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville to Dave & Buster's.

And the local "public" has proven time and time again that they can make very stupid decisions.

The casino industry is the only industry in the state that requires a public vote. Why is what, exactly? It makes no sense. Strip clubs and bars don't even require a public vote, so why a casino? Casinos are privately funded businesses just like any other business that opens in the state.

Come on, Bossier City, and do the right thing. Margaritaville WILL grow this casino market once again, and even locals will enjoy it. Let's not screw this up.

[Antrell Williams]

The casino will do more for the city, although I can see why the locals want a Dave and Busters, better for them to enjoy rather than another casino. Doesn't mean a Dave and Busters couldn't open though.

[dimebag1980]

That's my thought, too... Dave & Buster's could open down there as well. They can co-exist. But people can be so narrow-minded to believe that just because a Margaritaville resort might get built down there means a Dave & Buster's couldn't be built next door in the Boardwalk. That's simply not true.

[Antrell Williams]

I swear you should be SBC's spokesperson.

[dimebag1980]

Haha... well, there was a time when I wanted that. Seriously. Especially back when I first came to UP and posted all the freaking time. Oh I do love my hometown. Maybe I can keep working in the natural gas industry and still be the spokesperson for the SBC area. Two paychecks would be nice anyway!

[dimebag1980]

Attached are two renderings of this resort project from different angles. I really hope the voters of Bossier Parish approve this project, because that is the only hurdle currently standing in the way.

[Antrell Williams]

Looks good. However, its not very striking.

[dimebag1980]

This project was officially passed last night by a 61%-39% public vote!! I'm totally excited. The nearest Margaritaville is in New Orleans. There is only one Margaritaville Casino Resort currently open and it opened last month in Vegas. For once Shreveport-Bossier not only gets a top-notch entertainment venue like Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, but we're only the second place in the world to have this new casino concept along with it. Plus, a large concert venue larger than the one at the Horseshoe and the promise of more big-name concerts like the Horseshoe brings in on a weekly basis. And to top it all off, another highrise (18-story) hotel for our riverfront skyline!

This is the most exciting time for Shreveport-Bossier entertainment in quite a while. Since Hard Rock Cafe never did end up building here after scouting the area back in '97-'98, I'm excited as hell to have Margaritaville. May this lead to further large entertainment venues building in the area of the Louisiana Boardwalk!

[dimebag1980]

Margaritaville Casino Resort Bossier City, the largest of the company's casino resorts which include casino resorts in Biloxi and Las Vegas, broke ground today. Making a special guest appearance for the ceremonies today was none other than Jimmy Buffett himself! I wish I could have been there for that. Buffett said he's excited about this project and proud to be back in this area where he performed earlier in his career. He also promised to return to the area soon, hinting that he might perform at the resort's grand opening in 2013.

I'm expecting big things from this project and damn proud to have it in Shreveport-Bossier, but especially in my hometown of Bossier City.

[richyb83]

What a nice addition to an already impressive riverfront! The 18-story hotel tower should look fantastic!

How many casinos is that on the SBC riverfront?? 6?? Do you think the area can support another casino?? Guessing Texas probably never legalizes gambling...how much competition is coming from the Indian-based casinos in Oklahoma??

Baton Rouge is building a 3rd casino(Pinnacle) several miles south of LSU....I don't think BR can support a 3rd...I would not be suprised to see one of the two downtown riverboats shut-down.

[dimebag1980]

Hey Richy, long time no see since I don't make it around this way much anymore. The 18-story tower will look amazing. There is a similar hotel in Honolulu that I saw briefly on Hawaii 5-0 and I think this will look very similar to that, with the vibrant tropical colors streaming up the tower.

Yes, this will make the 6th riverboat for the riverfront area, and 7th in the area, Harrah's Louisiana Downs, currently has a third hotel being built right out in front of it. The second hotel there just opened and the third is already well under construction.

The other casinos along the riverfront vehemently opposed this project, putting up billboards along I-20 and I-49, claiming that it would cause the demise of at least one of the existing casinos. I don't believe that is going to happen, because this new project is going to bring with it new people who have never been to this market. But it first had to have a public vote, and that passed by an overwhelming margin. So obviously the citizens of Bossier City are excited about the project and feel that it will be a success.

Right now, we're only touching a very small percent of the Dallas-area population. It also happens that the DFW area is the sixth-largest Jimmy Buffett fan base in the world. Many of those people will want to make the trip over here just for the Margaritaville complex, and I guarantee you that a good percent of those people would be new to this gambling market.

The other hope is that this will bring back many of the DFW gamblers who now make the trip north of the state line to Oklahoma, since the huge Windstar Casino is only an hour or so north of DFW. We have to give them a reason to drive 3-4 hours rather than 1 hour, and if anything will do that it will be Margaritaville.

I have read on Jimmy Buffett fan boards from people in the Houston/Galveston area who are excited about this project and plan to make the drive up here from all the way down there, which is a 4-6 hour drive dependiing on traffic.

You know me, Richy, I'm positive about my area and about the power of a project like this. Just as I know you would be if Margaritaville were building in Baton Rouge. We're very much alike in that way.

Anyway, that's my take on it. I know there are those who disagree with me, and while I welcome their comments it won't ever change my opinion. Margaritaville is on the level of Hard Rock Cafe as far as tourism is concerned, and who knows, this could lead to us getting a Hard Rock Cafe as well. Hard Rock Cafe scouted the area around the Horseshoe Casino back in the late 90s but they ended up passing on this area. This area has changed A LOT since then.

[dimebag1980]

Update since nothing has been said in a while: Construction began in late February, roughly 3 weeks ago. In about 8-10 more weeks, dirt work should be finished and they should begin erecting the casino itself and the hotel simultaneously. This means, about that time, we should see a highrise construction crane on our skyline once again. I've missed that, as it's been a few years since we had one. I believe the convention center Hilton hotel was the last highrise construction crane downtown. The crane should be down there for quite a while, as construction is expected to take up to 16 months. This is going to be one fantastic resort. Jimmy Buffet himself even said that when he made a surprise appearance at the groundbreaking ceremony last month.

Also, this casino is going to feel much larger than all the existing casinos in the market, because instead of 30,000 sq. ft. of gaming space divided between three floors, it will be 30,000 sq. ft. of gaming space on one floor.

Anyway, that's my update from what I've read. If anyone has anything to add, please feel free.

I'm very anxious and excited about this project! It's not every day Shreveport is chosen to have the largest of anything, but this is the largest of the Margaritaville Casino Resorts. It's larger than the one in Vegas and larger than the one in Biloxi. Plus, it will have the Margaritaville Cafe like New Orleans has, but taken to a whole new level with the whole resort feel. Get excited about this one, I think we've finally gotten a true gem being built on our riverfront.

[itsjustme3]

Will the new casino be connected to the boardwalk?

And are there any renderings of a new traffic St/Texas at intersection? Assuming that's in the plans. I assume it is since they would/should want a more clear path entrance.

[dimebag1980]

Yes, it will be connected to the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk stops right at the edge of the property so that there is a transition from a Boardwalk theme to a tropics theme. As far as renderings for that intersection, I haven't seen any, but I do think that is the plan. Bossier City is supposed to provide streets and drainage and other such infrastructure for a new street called Margaritaville Way. The official street address of the resort will be 777 Margaritaville Way.

I'm stoked about this project! Having been to a Margaritaville in Jamaica and the one in New Orleans, I already know what to expect. And the fact that this one is going to be the largest of the three Margaritaville Casino Resort projects is even more exciting to me. For once, we will have a casino resort larger than its counterparts Las Vegas and Biloxi. Although that almost didn't happen, because while this is a $200 million project, originally the one in Biloxi was going to be about $750 milllion, but I believe one of the majority partners backed out and they had to scale that project way back.

To be honest, while Biloxi's casino industry started out small, it has gotten to the point that anyone who builds there had better either put up or shut up. It's a mini-Vegas, for sure. As the market grows and becomes more competitive, if you're not spending more money than the other guys and building something unique to the market, there's a good chance you're going to sink.

[dimebag1980]

Just an update to mention that Margaritaville Resort Bossier City has a website up and running now with a video of the groundbreaking, where Jimmy Buffett was the guest of honor. They also have a live webcam on there, which I will check every few weeks probably since actually going down there to look is such a hassle with the traffic.

Main website:

http://www.margarita...bossiercity.com

Webcam page:

http://www.margarita...com/webcam.html

[dimebag1980]

The highrise crane is being constructed on-site today! I saw the lower trusses of it on their webcam. I wish now they would zoom their webcam out a bit so we can see more of the crane and more of the site. All you can see on the cam is the hotel construction. Possible bad news for our casino market, I just got back from a week of working in Oklahoma and I noticed that the Winstar World Casino, which is on an Indian reservation of I-35 an hour north of Dallas, is building what appears to be a second high-rise hotel. This tells me that more and more people are making the shorter drive to the WInstar than the 3 hour drive to Shreveport. We have GOT to get that passenger rail line going between Shreveport and Dallas. We have GOT to make travel between the two metro areas easier.

[Antrell Williams]

The highrise crane is being constructed on-site today! I saw the lower trusses of it on their webcam. I wish now they would zoom their webcam out a bit so we can see more of the crane and more of the site. All you can see on the cam is the hotel construction. Possible bad news for our casino market, I just got back from a week of working in Oklahoma and I noticed that the Winstar World Casino, which is on an Indian reservation of I-35 an hour north of Dallas, is building what appears to be a second high-rise hotel. This tells me that more and more people are making the shorter drive to the WInstar than the 3 hour drive to Shreveport. We have GOT to get that passenger rail line going between Shreveport and Dallas. We have GOT to make travel between the two metro areas easier.

Is that DART expansion still alive? Thought it was just a hopeful proposal. Wouldn't a line to OKC be more lucrative for them?

[dimebag1980]

Is that DART expansion still alive? Thought it was just a hopeful proposal. Wouldn't a line to OKC be more lucrative for them?

I don't follow what goes on in Dallas, with the exception of its relation to Shreveport in terms of tourism. I drive through there often going to/from OKC, but don't generally stop except to get gas and maybe something to eat/drink. They might already have a rail line with OKC, but I don't know. For Amtrak, a rail line between Shreveport and Dallas may prove lucrative given the few million times Dallas-area residents come through our casino doors.

But anyway, on the topic of Margaritaville, I stopped off in downtown Shreveport today, and walked down to the riverfront to get a good shot of the construction now that the crane is up.

[dimebag1980]

Here are some more recent renderings of Margaritaville Bossier City from the design firm.

[Antrell Williams]

It should be halfway topped out by now right. Is this bigger than L'Auberge BR?

[dimebag1980]

You're right; I drove by the site yesterday and it's about 9 floors up right now, and supposed to be 18 floors when topped out. I'm not sure how big L'Auberge is. One website I found says it's 12 stories but the official webpage of the project doesn't mention details like that.

One thing that will make Margaritaville stand out from other casinos in this market, other than the Margaritaville restaurant and name, is that local PGA pro David Toms is planning a golf academy with a golf course on the land next door to the casino, and the two properties are working together to find a way to include the golf course as an amenity of Margaritaville. That would certainly make it stand out in this market. Plus, it will be directly attached to the Boardwalk, so they will have the added benefit there as well. This is a definite game-changer for this market, so I hope it ends up helping the market overall. Since DFW is our biggest draw, and that area is also the 6th-largest Jimmy Buffett fan base in the world, which was also part of the reason that the developers of this project went with the Margaritaville theme.

[dimebag1980]

One more recent rendering, showing up-close details of the south Florida-inspired look.

[Antrell Williams]

The golf couse is impressive, and it's connection to the Boardwalk, much better than L'Auberge at the moment. It isn't very tall at 12-14 floors, and it's campus is very secluded. It'll take some years for the area to get more entertainment.

[dimebag1980]

Some new aerials from today as posted on their Facebook page (not taken by me).

Pouring concrete on the 11th floor

A view with the pool deck in the foreground

A view from above the Bass Pro Shops, looking north

The view from above the Bass Pro Shops parking lot