Cordish promises 'game-changing' Diamond Jacks Casino project with PBR Cowboy Bar
The top executive for the latest prospective buyer of the long-shuttered Diamond Jacks Casino in Bossier City promised that The Cordish Companies will deliver a "game-changing" project that will vault the property into a destination gaming resort after years of musical chairs ownership.
Cordish, a family-owned company headquartered in Baltimore with extensive international operations in gaming, entertainment and hospitality, will reflag the property with it's Live! Casino brand and invest $250 million or more in transforming the dilapidated campus.
"We intend for it to be a game-changing project for the Bossier City market," said Cordish Gaming CEO Rob Norton, who along with other company executives presented a conceptual plan to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board Monday in Baton Rouge.
The Gaming Control Board gave its approval two weeks ago for Cordish to move forward with its purchase from Foundation Gaming, which had just won approval for its purchase of the abandoned property in December.
Cordish must still clear a suitability investigation by Louisiana State Police before the Gaming Control Board can approve the company's acquisition of the gaming license.
Cordish's gaming division generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue with casinos in Maryland, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Tampa and Hollywood, Fla.
Among the highlights Cordish plans for the property, which will include a hotel and land-based casino: a PBR Cowboy Bar, which Norton called a "powerhouse" nightclub; its branded Sports & Social bar and sports book; at least 400 hotel rooms; 25,000-square-feet of renovated event space; and about six food and beverage stations with at least two fine dining restaurants.
"We plan to rebuild the event space and focus on bringing entertainment back to the market," Norton said.
Norton once lived at the Bossier City property when it was an Isle of Capri after he was displaced by Hurricane Katrina while working for that company in Biloxi, Miss.
"I know this property intimately," Norton said.
Norton said he believes the company can leverage the connectivity of the Bossier City property with Cordish's Texas Live! entertainment district nestled between the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and anchored by a Loews hotel in Arlington.
Cordish believes Texas Live! can provide a pipeline from the Dallas-Fort Worth market, which is Shreveport-Bossier's most lucrative field.
The company said it has more than $1 billion under construction adjacent to its Texas Live! development alone.
Cordish's Live! entertainment districts have drawn 55 million visitors, company officials said.
Gaming Commission Chairman Ronnie Johns said he believes Cordish can elevate the property beyond Foundation's ambitions.
"They're impressive and their reputation is exemplary," Johns said.
More: What we know about Cordish, the company buying Diamond Jacks Casino
Diamond Jacks has been closed since the spring of 2020, a casualty of what previous owner Peninsula Pacific called the "unexpected impact" of the COVID pandemic. The dilapidated campus has been vacant ever since.
The property was the first casino to open in the Shreveport-Bossier market, starting business at the Isle of Capri in 1994.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Cordish to transform Diamond Jacks Casino, include PBR Cowboy Bar
