“Wastin away in Margaritaville…Lookin for that lost shaker of salt…”

WOW! The Margaritaville concept has come a looooong way from a talented dreamer playing four chords on a guitar in Key West, New Orleans and Hattiesburg.

The Margaritaville Resort Casino and Hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana is a true winner.  We stayed at the hotel as one of our stops on our June casino tour. It was our second visit to the facility.

Margaritaville Resort Casino and Hotel, Bossier City, LA 

Several aspects of the venture are impressive.  For starters, every inch of the place is Margaritaville. The Jimmy Buffet theme and music is throughout the dining, drinking, gaming, clothing, hotel and food areas.  People seemed excited and happy to be there.
Second, the crowds were impressive.  There was a good mix of young, middle-aged and senior citizens in the casino gaming areas, the hotel and the bars and restaurants.  One comment we hear frequently from casino operators and managers is that they are not attracting and drawing in the 25 – 40 age group. Our observation was that Margaritaville in Bossier City is an exception to that belief.

Third, their numbers are impressive.  They opened for business in June 2013 and immediately captured 20 percent of the seven-casino Bossier City/Shreveport gaming revenues.  The facility has a 400 room hotel, 1,200 slots, 54 tables along with a buffet, restaurant-bar and a large and beautiful pool-cabana bar.

Margaritaville Resort Casino Hotel, Bossier City, Louisiana is owned by Bossier Casino Venture, Inc., and is privately held.

Put this one on your “must-see” list.  It is a great place to visit and among the best in the Southeast.

CASINOTES and RACINOTES owners and writers do not have an affiliation or ownership with or in the Margaritaville Casino Resort and Hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Holy Golden Nugget Batman!!!!

June travels took us to 41 casino facilities, four Indian mound sites, one museum and…Cafe du Monde, all in Louisiana and Mississippi.  Of course, among all of the casino and racino facilities and operations, a few stood out as exceptional.  

Looking toward the Golden Nugget from the pool deck at L'Auberge.

We viewed the New Golden Nugget Casino Hotel Resort at Lake Charles, Louisiana from the pool area of the fabulous L’Auberge Casino Hotel Resort, Louisiana’s largest casino gaming revenue producer.

The Golden Nugget is in the final stages of construction, scheduled to open this fall. 

The parent company of the Golden Nugget, Landry’s Inc., also owns the Golden Nugget in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Biloxi facility was purchased from the Isle of Capri in 2012 and recently completed a $100 Million "transformation project” (their words). Tilman Fertitta is the sole owner, Chairman and CEO of Landry’s Inc. When you visit Biloxi be sure to visit this great “transformed” facility.

Our final word, put the two Golden Nugget facilities and the two L’Auberge facilities on your “must see” list.  And KUDOS to Tilman Fertitta for making a significant entry into the Southeastern casino/racino market. 

The L’Auberge at Lake Charles also has a sister site in Baton Rouge.  This is a fourth “must see” site. Again, it’s fabulous.  The L’Auberge facilities are owned and operated by the Wall Street-based Pinnacle Entertainment.  Pinnacle also owns three other sites in the Southeast: The Ameristar in Vicksburg, Mississippi; Boomtown in Bossier City, Louisiana; and Boomtown in Harvey, Louisiana (New Orleans area).

Introduction to CASINOTES and RACINOTES

The focus of CASINOTES and RACINOTES is a discussion of casinos and racinos in the nine Southeastern States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Our discussions will include Wall Street-based, privately owned and Native American-owned facilities.

In addition, CASINOTES and RACINOTES will provide articles regarding Native American history and historical sites throughout the nine states.

Our initial publication is three brief articles.  The first two include our observations from visits to five major casino-hotel facilities. The first article includes two Golden Nugget facilities and Pinnacle Entertainment’s L’Auberge facilities.  The second article details our observations from our visit to the Margaritaville facility in Bossier City.  The third article is a background writing regarding the Native American Tribes in the southeastern states.

It is our intention to publish new CASINOTES and RACINOTES articles weekly.  So, just jump in, enjoy and comment if you’d like.