Pinnacle Entertainment News

Leevac Industries, LLC of Jennings, La., won a $40 million contract from PNK (Lake Charles), LLC for the construction of a 330 x 225 x 13-ft. (100.5 x 68.5 x 3.9 m) Paddlewheel Casino Vessel. Lay, Pittman and Associates, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., are the naval architects. The casino vessel will hold more than 1,500 slot machines and 60 table games and will be moored in Lake Charles, La. This vessel will be the largest riverboat casino built in the State of Louisiana. Leevac’s President, William F. Stokes said, “We are pleased that Pinnacle Entertainment has placed the confidence in our ability to construct this project and the award…

Fears of casino boats potentially colliding with real working vessels on busy waterways was a core tenant of the drive to keep the vessels permanently moored at dock. Those fears became reality on Monday, but thankfully without disastrous results. A casino boat en route to its Indiana port and a barge carrying cement collided on the Mississippi River, causing extensive damage to the gambling boat, the Coast Guard said, but only slightly injuring one onboard the gambling boat. The northbound "Miss Belterra," owned by Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., limped to the shoreline near Caruthersville, Mo., where it was grounded safely. The 313-foot (95-…

As the casino riverboat industry celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, there's little resemblance between the first reproduction 1890s paddlewheelers that a decade ago plied the upper Mississippi River in Iowa and today's luxurious floating casino resort complexes with their plethora of amenities. Pinnacle Entertainment's $200 million Belterra Casino Resort in Belterra, Ind., which opened last Oct. 27, epitomizes this trend. The Belterra coincidentally and unintentionally also pays tribute to the industry's hallmark 10th anniversary - which is traditionally celebrated with a gift of aluminum or tin - through use of an innovative technique.

While the Casino boat building business has been stagnant for nearly a decade, there maybe emerging opportunities for growth. For naval architects, shipyards, interior designers and marine systems and equipment suppliers the mid 1990's was a heady time. Over 100 casino boats were built during this time. If there are more on the way, it will be a smaller market this time around. The market is not so much for new boats for new jurisdictions, since the last casino boat legislation was passed in Indiana in 1993, almost 12 years ago. What is happening is that those boats are now 12 years old and needing replacement. Over the past couple of years some boats have been replaced.

The year 2004 was a watershed year for the passenger vessel industry. The first two American flagged fast passenger and vehicle ferries went into service and equally important was that business was up in all sectors of the marketplace. There is more variety as well. For the first time in several years, new casino boats are being built. One is for an operator in Michigan City, Indiana, a vessel being built at Chicago Bridge & Iron as a replacement boat for a vessel now almost 10 years old. A second is for the Lake Charles, La. Subsidiary of Pinnacle Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based gaming company. This is a 330-ft. by 225-ft. powered barge built by Leevac Shipyards, Jennings, La.