Share
A few months after Queen Casino and Entertainment’s grand reopening in August 2023, Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) confirmed Monday that it would finance and oversee a landside move of the Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat casino.
Under the deal, GLPI will provide an estimated $111 million to fund the costs of moving and renovating the Belle of Baton Rouge. Peter Carlino, chairman and CEO of GLPI, said in a news release:
“Building on the success of our landside move funding at The Queen Baton Rouge, we have agreed to provide funding for the hard costs related to Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc.‘s landside move at The Belle. Queen Casino & Entertainment has proven its ability to leverage a fresh, new product to grow the overall gaming market, and we expect this project to follow a similar path.”
This might just become a trend in Louisiana, as on June 1 another riverboat casino, The Treasure Chest Casino, shut its doors in preparation for its June 6 grand reopening on a land. This practice aligns with Senate Bill 316, which Governor Bel Edwards signed into law in 2018 to permit riverboat casinos to relocate ashore.
Online casinos are not legal in Louisiana, so residents visit the riverboat and retail casinos.
Key takeaways
- Belle of Baton Rouge is moving to land to the tune of $141 million, with GLPI funding $111 million.
- The relocation of riverboat casinos to land-based facilities is a strategy to boost revenue.
- Our online casino bill tracker lists Louisiana under states working toward legalization. We have our eyes on legislation efforts and anticipate 2025 could be a better year to expect movement.
GLPI strengthens expansion plan as landlord with Queen Casino deal
GLPI’s business involves the acquisition, financing, and ownership of real estate that is leased to gambling operators. Its ventures show an appetite for expansion.
Hence, this deal will secure GLPI ownership of the new facility. “We remain active in our efforts to expand our portfolio in the current environment and believe that transactions such as this further our reputation as the gaming landlord of choice,” Carlino said.
On the development funding, Queen Casino & Entertainment, Inc. will pay a rental yield of 9% starting one year after the funds were first disbursed, which was on May 30, 2024. Other facts of the agreement include:
- Project completion date by September 2025.
- The total cost of the project is expected to be above $141 million.
- The funding provided by GLPI is $111 million.
The riverboat casino will remain open until construction is complete and all equipment moves from the riverboat to the new land site.
The Queen Baton Rouge casino revenue soars with GPLI partnership
The Queen Baton Rouge casino has been recording excellent performance since its reopening on land, and Terry Downey, CEO of Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., said this can be attributed to the partnership with GLPI.
He believes GLPI will now give the Belle greater attention in light of this new development. Downey stated in the press release:
“As we now turn our attention to The Belle, we look forward to realizing similar operational upside from this latest move landside. In particular, the proven success at the Queen and the synergies made
possible by our operating model between the Queen and The Belle set the stage for success.
We appreciate GLPI’s continued partnership in the growth of our business and
look forward to providing our players with another fully refreshed casino destination.”
The April 2024 gaming revenue report for Louisiana revealed a yearly and monthly decrease for its land-based and 15 riverboat casinos. Thus, there’s no question that this shift of the riverboat casinos to an onshore location will increase land-based revenue.
