Kenner's Treasure Chest Casino breaks ground on $100 million land-based gaming hall
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Officials broke ground Tuesday on Kenner’s new land-based Treasure Chest Casino, a more than $100 million development that will replace the aging riverboat of the same name when it opens in early 2024.
Located at the north end of Williams Boulevard at Lake Pontchartrain, the “state-of-the-art” facility owned by Boyd Gaming will include a 47,000-square-foot gambling hall – twice the size of its water-based counterpart – and 10,000 square feet of convention space, alongside new restaurants, bars and a FanDuel Sportsbook.
“With the new set-up we anticipate increased revenue to the residents of the city of Kenner, which will aid in capital projects,” Mayor Michael Glaser said.
The project is part of a larger push to revitalize Kenner’s Laketown neighborhood into a new entertainment destination. In August, the Jefferson Parish Council set aside more than $2 million to renovate the nearby boat launch on Lake Ponchatrain.
And last year, Las Vegas-based Atlantis Gaming announced plans for a new $450 million, 40-acre “total destination resort” in Laketown, with shops, condominiums and, possibly, gambling. The status of that development, however, remains up in the air.
Donald Bailey, president and CEO of Atlantis Gaming, said the company is nearing the end of negotiations with the state on securing a lease.
Glaser said that during an introductory meeting last month, officials with Atlantis Gaming told him the cost of the project had ballooned to $700 million. He questioned what sort of revenue source could support such an investment.
Nonetheless, local officials were upbeat at Tuesday’s Treasure Chest groundbreaking. The floating casino, which opened in 1994, has generated millions in revenue for the city. A change in state law in 2018 allowed for floating casinos to move to locations on land.
“This is the start of the revitalization of Laketown,” said Kenner City Councilman Joey LaHatte.
