Diamond Jacks Casino Being Resold Before Redevelopment Begins

On April 4, Foundation Gaming Group, the new Mississippi-based owners of the previous Diamond Jacks Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, received approval from the Louisiana Gaming Commission to proceed with the sale of the long-closed Diamond Jacks Casino to Maryland-based Cordish company, a major national hospitality, entertainment and gaming company.

However, this new sale would delay the casino’s official reopening till 2025.

Sale of property:

The Louisiana Gaming Commission held a special meeting with Foundation Gaming on Tuesday to discuss its request to continue the property sale process, and all went well for Foundation Gaming as they received approval, as mentioned above.

On that note, Louisiana Gaming Commission Chairman Ronnie Johns said: “The final product will exceed Foundation’s ambitions and renovations for the basically abandoned property.”

After the meeting, Johns told the USA Today Network: “It will set the project back a few months, but it will greatly enhance it.”

Redevelopment of the casino:

As for the redevelopment process, the officials of the Cordish company will introduce their plans to the commission and the public at the next meeting of the commission, which will be held on April 17.

In that regard, Johns, who introduced letters of support from Bossier City Mayor Tommy Chandler and the Bossier Parish Police Jury, said: “I’m excited about the new developments that will enhance the final product.”

Constant change of owners:

Prior to Foundation Gaming, the property was owned by Peninsula Pacific, which officially sold the casino to Foundation Gaming in December 2022, setting everything up for a redevelopment that was then a project worth $200 million.

However, the casino has been officially closed since spring 2020, due to what previous owner Peninsula Pacific called the “unexpected impact” of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the property has been completely abandoned since then.

But Peninsula never planned to open the casino again. It invested everything on a bid to use its license to construct a $325 million casino-resort project in St. Tammany Parish near Slidell. However, the overwhelming majority of voters rejected the proposal.

In this regard, Johns said: “Peninsula bought the property to go to St. Tammany. When that didn’t work out they bailed out.”

About:

Located in Bossier City, Louisiana, Diamond Jacks Casino was the first to open in the Shreveport-Bossier market and began operations on the Isle of Capri in 1994.

When it was previously open, it had approximately 30,000 square feet of gaming space, involving 22 live tables featuring craps, blackjack, roulette, Mississippi Stud, three card poker and much more.