Just two short years after voters approved a referendum to bring in a new casino to Bossier City, gamers and Parrotheads from Dallas to Oklahoma and beyond will flock to Shreveport-Bossier City this July to begin experiencing the new, $205 million Margaritaville Resort Casino, where they can enjoy live entertainment, volcano shows, restaurants, bars, a 400-roomplus hotel and hundreds of slot and table games spread across a first-of-its-kind, 30,000-square-feet, single-level casino floor.

Located on the north end of the Louisiana Boardwalk – newly branded as The Outlets at Louisiana Boardwalk – the casino went from planning to completion starting in May 2011 and is set to open for business July 3 with a ribbon-cutting and VIP concert featuring Jimmy Buffett, followed by a Lee Greenwood concert and official grand opening ceremony July 4.

“Margaritaville Resort Casino will offer a truly unique gaming experience for the Shreveport-Bossier area,” said Barry Regula, general manager and senior vice president of Margaritaville.

“The casino floor is like no other in this market, and the caliber of entertainment, nightlife and dining make Margaritaville Resort Casino a world-class resort gaming experience.

“It’s about creating an environment of casual elegance and non-stop fun to make you feel like you’ve escaped to the islands. It really is 5 o’clock all day long at Margaritaville.”

More specifically, the casino will have around 1,200 slot and video machines and about 55 table games, along with a bottomlevel pool area, an 18-floor hotel, a 900- seat performance hall, four dining venues including the two-story Margaritaville Restaurant, and seven specially designed, wood-topped bars with more than 100 pictures of Jimmy Buffett sealed within them.

“This is the largest of three Margaritaville Casinos in the country and will employ technology and entertainment that will give patrons an experience they’d otherwise only be able to get in Las Vegas,” said Charity Myers, marketing manager.

Myers said the casino will have the largest volcano show of the three Margaritaville locations, plus evening shows on weekends, and stilt-walkers and other entertainers.

“The biggest difference for us in this riverboat market is that we have the first and only single-level barge,” she said.

“The one immense floor is surrounded by a 6-foot glass wall, so instead of just being stuck on a boat, you can see around you into the restaurant and the stores and pavilion, and vice-versa. This really opens it up and creates a very appealing, total entertainment experience.”

For locals, there have been some debates along the way about the decision to bring in a new casino with some saying the market would be over-saturated, and other casinos would be forced to close their doors once the thrill of the new one diminishes.

“The good thing is that each casino is, for the most part, competing for a different price point and market segment,” said Rocky Rocket, executive director and president of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation. “I think Margaritaville has a higher price point generally because of the brand name. They can show the history of success and data to back that up.

“They know what they can spend and what they can bring in. They can prove that they can reach a certain price point. So while there will be a small percentage of changes, I don’t think there’s going to be any harm done to the other casinos necessarily.

“They’re bringing in a larger spending demographic and that makes it more appealing to us in terms of overall positive impact.”

Economic Advantage

For now, though, this is without a doubt the new shining star of Bossier City.

“We’re bringing 1,500 new jobs to the area and an estimated $12 million in local tax revenue to the area,” Regula said. “That’s a pretty positive impact for the local economy.”

One of the casino’s developers, William Trotter, said last year a survey on the thenproposed casino showed it could grow the market by upward of 13 percent.

“Our revenue projections show that we will bring the city and the parish over $12 million to the bottom line, and we’ll bring over $2 million just in property tax to the parish,” he said.

City and casino officials say one of the most anticipated economic benefits of the casino is its ability to bring in new and old gamers alike from Texas and Oklahoma. This should help not just the casino and the city but other casinos and retailers through the area as well and especially The Outlets at Louisiana Boardwalk.

According to market analysis by Margaritaville, the casino may double the amount of foot traffic to The Outlets at Louisiana Boardwalk.

Ashley Davis, marketing manager for The Outlets at Louisiana Boardwalk, said having Margaritaville move so close should prove to be a tremendous gain for the shopping mall.

“This is great timing for Margaritaville to open. We have a great marketing team and new ownership that is putting money into the center. Margaritaville has been a great selling point, and there are some big national retail names showing interest. Within a year, you’ll see some brand name outlet stores here that we don’t have yet in the Shreveport-Bossier market.”

Davis said the Boardwalk rolled out the new branding for the shopping area just recently, and they will be a full outlet center within six months to a year.

Pam Glorioso, project coordinator and film commissioner for Bossier City, added that the casino is a win-win in several ways.

“The biggest draw is the franchise name of Margaritaville,” she said. “Jimmy Buffett’s largest concentration of ‘Parrotheads’ is in Florida, but the second largest is in Texas.”

Glorioso said the city owns all the parking area and put in more than $7 million in traffic improvements and new roads to help traffic flow into the property.

Local business leaders said the benefits from the casino can only go up.

“This casino equals more employment and tourism,” said Scott Martinez, president of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership.

“Jimmy Buffett has widespread appeal, and we’ll see a lot of people attracted to that brand. As far as other gaming establishments here, it will help them, too, because of the net increase in visitors. They won’t exclusively go to Margaritaville. There will be a spillover effect to other casinos.”

With Margaritaville in particular, he said, you have to consider the strength of brand recognition.

“Jimmy Buffett has partnerships with so many corporations, and it’s amazing the marketing reach his name has. Most people don’t realize the following he has and the impact of that. Plus, there’s only a certain number of markets open to gaming. You don’t have anything like this around here. The closest Margaritaville is on the Gulf Coast, so there will be a lot of people attracted to this opportunity.”

The Beginning

The casino’s local beginnings go back to 2011 when Paul Alanis, president and chief executive officer of Margaritaville, and William Trotter, chairman of the board of directors, petitioned the state gaming commission for a public referendum on the casino.

That November, of the more than 13,000 voters, 61 percent voted in favor of the new casino, looking forward to projections of thousands of new jobs and millions in new local tax revenues to support Bossier Parish.

Ownership of the Grand Palais Riverboat in Lake Charles transferred to Margaritaville Bossier City in February 2012, giving Bossier Casino Venture Inc. the last riverboat gaming license to use anywhere they liked.

Louisiana law stipulates there can only be 15 riverboat licenses in the state and six casinos on one water body, so this is not only the last riverboat casino in the state but the last one on the Red River.

As Glorioso said, however, Margaritaville’s owners and investors were on board in Bossier City long before that was ever a concern.

“When that referendum passed, the developers were already drawing plans for the casino, and they went right to work and turned dirt in February of 2012.

“I think we’re going to have a huge new interest, but we’ll see the real results over the next six months or so.”

Additionally, advertising to bring in more gamers and visitors to the city is something all the merchants and casinos in this area can agree on, said Brandy Evans, vice president of communications for the Shreveport- Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau.

The bureau put together a co-op tourism ad campaign aimed at Dallas, which allowed partnering businesses to advertise along with the city. Margaritaville, DiamondJacks and Eldorado casinos jumped on board along with local businesses to help heighten interest in the area.

“We wanted to be very visible in Dallas and certainly to take advantage of the new casino opening up,” Evans said.

“Our hope is the excitement of the new casino, plus the annual festivals and other events here, will entice visitors in the Dallas market while also reigniting and reminding our past visitors what we have to offer.”

A More Modern Experience

Along with excitement and new business for the Boardwalk, Myers said the new casino is going to help boost the whole area into a more modern experience.

“This area has had a lot of growth toward north Bossier and south Shreveport,” she said.

“We know what’s here. This is a tourist location. We know we’re the shiny diamond here at the moment, but we are also concerned with the health and economy of the whole area. We want the other casinos to be successful as well, and we’re hoping everyone will benefit from this.”

Time will tell whether all the projections are right for the new kid on the block. Meanwhile, put on your flip-flops, nibble some sponge cake and get ready to start searchin’ for your lost shaker of salt at Margaritaville Resort Casino.