Bill to fund Morganza refilled
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January 10, 2007
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Amelia Belle casino arrived at its new St. Mary Parish home last Wednesday.
Columbia Sussex Corp., the vessel’s new owners, moved the casino from the Alabama shipyard where it had been undergoing repairs. The riverboat, formerly called the Belle of Orleans, had been docked in New Orleans where it sustained heavy damage by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005.
St. Mary Parish voters approved a ballot measure in July that allowed Columbia to move the casino to Amelia.
St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin was on hand as the vessel floated slowly toward the docking site near the shores of Bayou Boeuf. Three assist boats helped spin the boat in the bayou to point it south, the direction it will face when permanently moored. It came to rest at its new home just after noon.
In preparation for the grand opening in late spring, the company said contractors will spend up to eight weeks completing interior renovations of the facility which is moored just south of the U.S. 90 bridge.
Kelly Duncan, a lawyer for the company, told state gambling regulators late last year that the company should know some time this month an exact date for the opening.
Columbia Sussex has guaranteed the parish a minimum $1.5 million annually for 10 years, and it could mean creation of up to 400 new jobs, company officials have said. If the casino pulls in more than $60 million in profits, St. Mary Parish will get 3.5 percent of that or at least $2.1 million annually. If the boat brings in $96 million or more, the parish will get 5 percent of the profits or at least $4.8 million.
The casino boat, which is owned and operated by Columbia Entertainment, will include more than 800 slot machines and 22 table games as well as a 200-seat buffet and a 600-seat entertainment deck, company officials said.
Columbia Sussex is a hotel and casino operator that also owns the Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat casino. The company acquired the New Orleans boat two summers ago from Caesars Entertainment Inc. for $24 million. It had been docked at the levee board’s South Shore Harbor marina in eastern New Orleans under a 10-year lease, which still has about eight years to run.
Columbia Sussex is fighting a legal battle with the Orleans Parish Levee District, the boat’s previous landlord, over nonpayment of rent since Katrina hit. The levee district has filed a civil suit, saying the company owes it over $1.3 million.
Before Katrina hit, the Belle of Orleans, formerly known as Bally’s, had long lagged behind its competitors in the New Orleans market n Harrahs Entertainment Inc.’s downtown casino and two suburban riverboats, the Treasure Chest in Kenner and the Boomtown Casino in Harvey n in terms of money won from gamblers.
St. Mary Parish was in the running once before for a riverboat casino. A group known as Louisiana Horizons, which included such investors as shipbuilder Boysie Bollinger, teamed with operator Isle of Capri Inc., in an effort to locate a boat near Amelia. However, that license n the 15th and final gambling boat license allowed by state law n went to Pinnacle in 2001 for a casino resort in Lake Charles.
Staff Photo by Howard Castay Jr. * Tri-Parish Times * Work will continue on the Amelia Belle over the next six to eight weeks, according to the vessel’s new owners. The boat is docked on the shores of Bayou Boeuf in St. Mary Parish. When complete, the Columbia Sussex Corp. property will offer over 800 slot machines and 22 tables games as well as a restaurant.
