Peninsula takes over Amelia Belle

The Amelia Belle Casino is now part of the Evangeline Downs family.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved the $106.5 million sale of the Amelia-based gambling boat, shifting ownership from Columbia Sussex to Peninsula Gaming LLC of Dubuque, Iowa.

The Iowa group owns Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino in Opelousas, as well as four off-track betting parlors in Port Allen, New Iberia, Henderson and Eunice, La., the Diamond Jo Riverboat Casino in Dubuque and the Diamond Jo in Worth County, Iowa.

Amelia Belle General Manager Bruce Woods said the casino’s name will remain the same, but visitors can expect a facelift in the coming year. Woods, who was hired in that role by Columbia Sussex, will remain in the top job with Peninsula.

“The entire casino will undergo a $6 million renovation over the next year,” he said. “It’s not going to be all at once, but it will be continual and steady.”

Adding new slot machines, upgrading the bathrooms and improving the signage top Woods’ “to do” list. Plans are in the works to move the casino’s game tables to the second floor and add a high-limit table and slot area. The first floor, he said, will be reserved for slot machines only.

“We’ve already made changes to the buffet by adding more items, and we’re going to continue to work on our menu and food quality,” Woods said.

Woods said that most of the current management team will remain intact. “In fact, I think one of the things we’ll be doing in the future is expanding our team to provide better service to the customer,” he explained.

The Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino is located 90 miles from the Amelia Belle Casino. The track was previously located in Carencro, but moved to its current site in Opelousas about six years ago after the company won voter approval to locate a slot and video poker casino at the new location.

The Amelia Belle operated first as Bally’s Casino when it opened in Louisiana in 1994 and later became the Belle of Orleans.

Columbia Sussex purchased the casino for $24 million from Caesars Entertainment in late June 2005.

Barely two months after Columbia Sussex took over, Hurricane Katrina hit, causing serious damage to the craft’s engine room and to the new slot machines, which had yet to be installed.

In 2006, the company decided to relocate the casino. According to Amelia Belle’s then-general manager Bryan Anderson, the Bayou Boeuf site stood out because its land masses on both sides of the waterway – St. Mary Parish to the west and Assumption Parish to the east – and because of its natural waterway access.

In a special election on July 15, 2006, voters overwhelmingly approved the move. Columbia Sussex’s promise to employ 400 job slots with local workers and a deal with the parish to provide $15 million to the parish – $1.5 million a year over its first 10 years in operation – helped sweeten the deal.

Columbia Sussex made good on its promise May 18, providing the parish with its second $1.5 million check. St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin said Peninsula Gaming has agreed to honor the payment agreement.