Belle of Baton Rouge

Belle of Baton Rouge

The entance of the Belle of Baton Rouge hotel
Location Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Address 103 France Street
Opening date September 30, 1994 (1994-09-30)
No. of rooms 288
Total gaming space 28,500 sq ft (2,650 m2)
Casino type Riverboat
Owner Tropicana Entertainment
Website belleofbatonrouge.com

The Belle of Baton Rouge is a riverboat casino and hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is owned and operated by Tropicana Entertainment.

The casino has 28,500 square feet (2,650 m2) of gaming space with 777 slot machines and 14 table games.[1] Other amenities include 288 hotel rooms, meeting space, a pool and fitness center, three eateries, an entertainment venue, and two parking garages.[2]

History

Catfish Town (1984–1992)

The casino boat, with enclosed walkways leading to it
The interior of the atrium

The Belle atrium is located at Catfish Town, a historic warehouse district that was redeveloped and opened as a festival marketplace in July 1984.[3] The $30-million project was developed by a group led by Jerry Dodson, with part of the budget financed by the city government using grant money from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.[3]

Catfish Town struggled to attract tenants and shoppers, and by November 1986, its developers had decided to cut their losses.[4] Ownership was transferred in December 1987 to Allied Bank, the primary mortgage holder, as a deed in lieu of foreclosure.[5] The bank's property managers reoriented Catfish Town toward being an office park, based on a marketing study that found that Baton Rouge did not have the population or tourism base to support a festival marketplace.[6] The Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) was brought in as a tenant in December 1989, and would come to occupy more than half of the complex's leasable space.[7][8]

Catfish Town was put up for sale in in April 1992 by NAB Asset Corp., which had come to own the property through a series of bank reorganizations.[7][9] The RTC had given notice that it would vacate its offices in January 1993, but NAB hoped that the soon-to-be nearly vacant complex would be attractive to an owner-occupant.[7] Louisiana had legalized riverboat casinos in July 1991, and multiple gaming operators had expressed interest in Catfish Town.[7]

Licensing and construction (1993–2001)

The riverboat gaming law allowed up to 15 casino licenses to be issued and only to casinos located on certain rivers and lakes, including the Mississippi River.[10] The number of licenses to be issued in the Baton Rouge area became a matter of contention.[11] Baton Rouge city officials pushed for only one casino to be licensed, but the Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Commission decided to allow two casinos.[11]

The casino was originally proposed by Jazz Enterprises, a company formed by several Louisiana and Nevada business people.[12] The casino boat would be docked at the 10-acre (4.0 ha) Catfish Town complex, which Jazz had agreed to purchase for $3.25 million;[13] they would also spend $20 million to upgrade the complex.[14] A 400-room hotel was added to the plan as part of negotiations to gain the city's endorsement.[14] Their proposal won the endorsement of Mayor Tom Ed McHugh and the city council, beating out three other casino applicants in the parish.[15] The Riverboat Gaming Commission gave preliminary approval to the casino in March 1993; the Commission awarded the other Baton Rouge license to Louisiana Casino Cruises (for what would become Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge).[16]

Summit Casinos had been tapped to manage the casino, but withdrew from the project and was replaced with Argosy Gaming.[17] Argosy would own 90 percent of the casino and up to 15 percent of the remainder of the project.[17]

The project's prospects were cast into doubt when the Louisiana State Police decided to disregard the Riverboat Gaming Commission's preliminary decisions and evaluate the applicants on their economic potential, including a third proposal by Lady Luck Gaming to dock a casino boat at the Capitol House Hotel.[18] Ultimately, however, the Jazz Enterprises proposal was ranked as the best out of the three, and it received final licensing approval in July 1994.[19] The casino opened on September 30, 1994.[20]

Argosy purchased Jazz Enterprises in June 1995 for $49 million (including $22 million in forgiven debt), gaining full ownership of Catfish Town and the Belle.[21][22] Jazz had had a string of confrontations with the city government, culminating in a threat by the city to shut down the casino because construction had been suspended on the parking garage.[23] The sale to Argosy defused the issues and allowed construction to resume.[24]

The three-story Argosy Landing building, the project's first permanent land-based facility, opened in February 1995, featuring a bar, gift shop, and restaurant.[25][26] The glass-enclosed Argosy Festival Atrium opened in April 1996.[27]

The casino's contract with the city required construction of the hotel to begin by September 1996.[28] The deadline was missed, and as a result, Argosy began making penalty payments to the city of approximately $300,000 per month.[29] Construction of the hotel finally began in July 1999, ending the penalty payments.[30] The Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel opened at the property in February 2001, owned by Argosy and managed by Sheraton.[31]

After completion (2002–present)

The property was purchased by Columbia Sussex in October 2005 for $150 million.[32][33]

The hotel dropped its affiliation with Sheraton in April 2010.[34] A $7-million renovation of the property was begun in 2011 to make it more competitive with the new L'Auberge Baton Rouge casino.[35]

Finances

Each year, the casino reports its adjusted gaming revenue (total wagers placed, less the amount paid out for winning bets) to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.[36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Tropicana Entertainment. February 24, 2017. p. 4 – via EDGAR.
  2. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Tropicana Entertainment. February 24, 2017. p. 7 – via EDGAR.
  3. 1 2 Sharon McRae (June 29, 1986). "Catfish Town two years old". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  4. ↑ "Hotel-office development still alive". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA. November 11, 1986 – via NewsBank.
  5. ↑ "City-parish signs agreement giving bank title to Catfish Town". State Times. Baton Rouge, LA. December 22, 1987 – via NewsBank.
  6. ↑ "Catfish Town better suited for office park, study says". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA. May 10, 1989 – via NewsBank.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Bobby Lamb (December 9, 1989). "Catfish Town leases signed". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  8. ↑ Bobby Lamb (April 25, 1992). "13 Catfish Town buildings up for sale". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  9. ↑ Lettice Stuart (April 14, 1991). "Federal agency rescues Catfish". New York Times. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  10. ↑ "Roemer OKs river gambling". Dallas Morning News. AP. July 20, 1991 – via NewsBank.
  11. 1 2 Curt Eysink (March 13, 1993). "Approval of 2 riverboat casinoo for BR doesn't float McHugh's boat". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  12. ↑ Bobby Lamb (August 12, 1992). "Two more river casino operators courting BR". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  13. ↑ Frank Main (January 20, 1993). "4th application submitted for gambling boat". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  14. 1 2 Curt Eysink (March 4, 1993). "BR gets "hard-nosed" on casino boat choice". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  15. ↑ Curt Eysink (March 17, 1993). "McHugh favors Jazz Enterprises". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  16. ↑ Curt Eysink (March 27, 1993). "Panel sets 2 casinos afloat in BR". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  17. 1 2 Curt Eysink (July 8, 1993). "Argosy gives Jazz cash infusion". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  18. ↑ Curt Eysink (April 5, 1994). "BR riverboat controversy: C-P officials say wishes ignored". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  19. ↑ Curt Eysink (July 19, 1994). "Jazz, Casino Rouge licensed". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  20. ↑ Greg Garland (October 1, 1994). "Roll 'em: Belle gamblers got what they came for". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  21. ↑ Scott Dyer (March 17, 1995). "Panel to rule soon on Argosy's purchase of Jazz". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  22. ↑ "Argosy buys Jazz". Chicago Sun-Times. June 7, 1995 – via NewsBank.
  23. ↑ Curt Eysink (November 30, 1994). "Problems of pact may close Belle". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  24. ↑ Curt Eysink (December 3, 1994). "Troubled Jazz cashes in its chips". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  25. ↑ Greg Garland (January 21, 1995). "Belle's business falls". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  26. ↑ Curt Eysink (March 1, 1995). "Argosy opens landing in Catfish Town". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  27. ↑ Cynthia V. Campbell (April 7, 1996). "Short "trips" at home open doors to a world of adventure". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  28. ↑ Deann Smith (October 9, 1996). "Parish attorney, Argosy Gaming spar over compromise". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  29. ↑ Chad Calder (July 2, 1999). "Argosy to unveil plans for new hotel". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  30. ↑ Deann Smith (July 30, 1999). "Hotel work begins - casino penalty ends". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  31. ↑ Chad Calder (February 6, 2001). "Sheraton hotel opening marks new stage in downtown revival". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  32. ↑ Jon Newberry (June 23, 2005). "Columbia Sussex buying La. casino". Cincinnati Post – via NewsBank.
  33. ↑ "Gaming giant sells casino". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. October 26, 2005 – via NewsBank.
  34. ↑ Gary Perilloux (April 14, 2010). "Belle's hotel changes brands". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  35. ↑ Chad Calder (April 13, 2011). "$7 million revamp planned at Belle". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA – via NewsBank.
  36. ↑ "Annual Reports". Louisiana Gaming Control Board. Retrieved 2017-08-06.


Coordinates: 30°26′33″N 91°11′22″W / 30.4425°N 91.1895°W / 30.4425; -91.1895

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