New Casino in Louisiana

The casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. announced Tuesday that it wants build a 350 million dollar riverboat casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which would replace badly damaged hurricane property it only just acquired from Harrahs Entertainment Inc.

Construction is expected to begin next year of Sugarcane Bay and open in 2009 with a 400 room hotel, a poker room and table games, 1,500 slot machines, the Las Vegas based Pinnacle stated on Tuesday.

We are trying to gain the feeling of the relaxed and laid back Caribbean atmosphere with the combined grace of Southern hospitality with an environment of comfort and luxury a spokesman said.

The new casino will be joined to another of Pinnacles casinos, L'Auberge du Lac hotel and casino, which opened a year ago and has become the top profit maker among Louisianas 12 riverboat casinos.

On May 31, Pinnacle and Harrahs announced an agreement to exchange the remnants of Pinnacles Biloxi, Miss., casino, which was demolished by Hurricane Katrina, for the Rita damaged Lake Charles site. Harrahs is also expected to receive another 25 million as part of the deal.

The new casino is still subject to authorization from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.