By Nancy Correro
The Times of SWLA
Pinnacle Entertainment’s Sugarcane Bay Casino and Resort is set to begin piling work on October 19 as a result of the credit markets loosening up. The initial project estimate was $350 million and it is now $407 million.
The new casino and resort will be connected to L’Auberge Casino by a covered walkway making it convenient for the guests to walk from one to the other.
“We’ve been doing site work for some time now and have actually already completed the entrance road for the new resort so now we start our pile work and that will be utilizing local companies to produce the piles and drive them.
I don’t have the final numbers on those contracts, but one of them alone is $6 million. It will be an 18 to 24 month process,” said Kerry Andersen, Director of Community and Public Relations.
The contracts for pile production and pile driving will be local and total in the millions of dollars. Once Sugarcane Bay is built, Pinnacle Entertainment will be the second largest employer in Calcasieu Parish and will have close to a billion dollars invested in the market.
“We are in the process of succession planning right now to identify current employees who are looking to move up into management and giving them the training that they need to do that. From an employment standpoint it’s huge for the region.
We will have over $800 million invested in the market when both of these properties are finished. It’s a significant investment and we believe that that is the strongest show of faith that we can make that Southwest Louisiana is a destination of choice for not just gaming travelers, but travelers in general,” Andersen said.
Three boathouse suites which are similar to the hotel villas at L’Auberge du Lac will be built on the Calcasieu River for use by high roller guests.
“On the high end we have our boat houses. Like at L’Auberge we have the villas, those are for the high end guests and they’ll be overlooking the water. The luxury boat's houses and the butlers—those are very exciting.
We will have a very large Mojito bar that if you first go on to the property it will be a central gathering place. It has a stage inside, another entertainment venue there, which is very exciting,” said Andersen.
Pinnacle has added a 3,000 seat performance arena to the mix of indulgences at the resort.
“With a 3,000 seat arena it allows us to merge the performance budget of the two resorts and attract larger acts to the city.
It will allow us to bring in bigger names and seat 3,000 people at one time instead of a 1500 and a 1500 we would have one big night with a big act,” Andersen said.
The positive economic impact will be substantial for Lake Charles. With the contractors being local and the jobs required to operate such a large facility, Pinnacles footprint will be evident.
“We will be the second largest employer in Calcasieu Parish upon opening. There are 2,200 new jobs with Sugarcane Bay and about 400 of those are management positions,” she said.
Along with the Mojito Bar and performance arena, there will be a swimming pool, large luxury spa, 30,000 square feet of gaming including: Asian gaming area, dedicated poker room, restaurants, and retail stores.
“The spa is 24,000 square feet which is three times the size of our current spa. It has a nautical theme. It is simply stunning and state-of-the-art. It will obviously be the largest spa in the region,” said Andersen.
It seems the “upscale tropical” themed Sugarcane Bay Casino, as Kerry Andersen coined it, is an exciting project for Pinnacle Entertainment and a boon for Lake Charles’ economy.
“We think that people who come here will stay here longer now because they have more options. We will be able to attract new people to the market that have not found a reason to sample it so far. So when you combine the gaming, entertainment, and what we offer and what Lake Charles offers in the way of hunting, fishing, festivals and hospitality, we really think that that is the recipe for success.”
