Casino news source: Shreveport Times - http://www.shreveporttimes.com
Eldorado Resort & Casino ponders a tower
May 18, 2007
By Velda Hunter
veldahunter@gannett.com
A Reno, Nev.-based casino and hotel operation that took over bankrupt Hollywood Casino about two years ago hopes to build a 300-room tower next to its existing one in downtown Shreveport.
"We're very excited about the possibility of the project, but it's in the very beginning conceptual stages at this time," said Gary Carano, president of Eldorado Resorts.
"This Shreveport market is a lot like the Reno market," he said. "We're very happy with our occupancy level at Shreveport. We just feel like we need more room."
So the company is looking into the possibility of adding a tower of rooms, suites and amenities in Shreveport, Carano said.
Currently, he said, the city is putting a one-floor deck on a lot near the casino. "If you pull into our current valet entrance, that's where the new tower would go."
Construction would start in 2008, Carano said.
Richard Bremer, president of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, said he hadn't heard any discussion about Eldorado thinking about building a second tower.
"It would be wonderful if they chose to put another tower up," he said. "We certainly would wish them well. We would hope they would continue to be successful in this market."
Development along the riverfront, one of the city's assets, is certainly welcome, Bremer said.
Eldorado hasn't applied for building permits for a new tower, said Mike Sepulvado, plans examiner for the city of Shreveport.
The news apparently first came from Eldorado Chairman Don Carano himself. During an interview May 11 with Cumulus Shreveport-Bossier "Talk of the Town" host Tom Pace, Carano announced hopes to build a 300-room tower in Shreveport.
Word came near the end of the broadcast that was mostly about last weekend's CORK Wine Festival. Don Carano also owns the Ferrari-Carano in Sonoma County, Calif.
"We hope to build a tower, another tower over there, yes. We're short of rooms," Don Carano told Pace. "We only have 400 rooms and we'd like to build a tower.
"We talked to the city of Shreveport. "»We have the property under lease from the city of Shreveport, just on the other side of the bridge there, and connect it to the existing facility."
Eldorado Resorts, a family-owned company that also runs Eldorado Casino in Reno, took over the bankrupt Hollywood Casino in 2005. In July, the casino and hotel will mark its two-year anniversary in Shreveport, said Leslie Peck, a spokeswoman for Eldorado Resort & Casino in Shreveport.
Louisiana casinos won $230.3 million in March. That dropped to $205 million in April, down slightly from the $213.9 million won in April 2006, The Associated Press reported this week. The report points to increased competition from casinos along Mississippi's Gulf Coast.
A report from Louisiana state police shows Eldorado's casino revenue dropped slightly, to $11.4 million in April from $11.6 million in March. The Shreveport resort and casino has a 403-suite hotel featuring restaurants, a three-story entertainment pavilion and a spa, according to its Web site. |
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