BATON ROUGE, LA. — Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) has opened the $368 million L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, located off Nicholson Drive in East Baton Rouge Parish. The development, which opened on Saturday, Sept. 1, created more than 1,000 permanent jobs, as well as 1,200 construction jobs.
“This is the moment we have been planning for and our team is excited to unveil a new level of hospitality and gaming to the Baton Rouge market,” says Mickey Parenton, vice president and general manager of L’Auberge Baton Rouge.
The 575-acre L’Auberge Baton Rouge includes a 74,000-square-foot casino, featuring 1,500 slot machines, 50 table games, a poker room, as well as a 205-room hotel, four dining outlets and a multi-purpose event center.
“The beauty of L’Auberge Baton Rouge is unmatched, from the luxurious hotel to the expansive and vibrant casino; a multi-purpose event center with concert seating for more than 1,500 people or banquet seating for up to 800 people and outdoor festival grounds with a capacity for up to 2,500 people,” Parenton says.
The casino and hotel are expected to have a tax impact of more than $50 million annually. L’Auberge Baton Rouge is Pinnacle’s fourth property in Louisiana, representing an investment of more than $1 billion in the state. Additionally, the company owns casinos in Missouri and Indiana, as well as a racetrack in Ohio.
Pinnacle’s stock price closed at $11.07 per share on Aug. 31, down from $13.72 per share a year earlier.
— Savannah Duncan