- The Isle of Capri Lake Charles will reopen as the Horseshoe Lake Charles on December 12, 2022.
- The former riverboat casino has been closed since August 2020 when it was damaged by Hurricane Laura.
- The new casino will have more than 1,000 slot machines and games, a WSOP poker room, and Caesars Sportsbook.
The former Isle of Capri Lake Charles will finally reopen after two years.
Owner Caesars Entertainment said that the former riverboat casino will be launching its new land-based facility on December 12, 2022.
In a statement, Caesars Entertainment President and COO Anthony Carano said:
An invitation-only ribbon-cutting event will signal the opening at noontime on December 12th. Festivities will continue during the day and will culminate with a celebratory fireworks display in the evening. The property will also be holding special opening events on New Year’s Eve weekend, where guests will witness the first-ever drone show in Lake Charles, Lion’s Dance celebration, and more.
Per Senior Vice President and Horseshoe Lake Charles General Manager Jeff Favre:
The New Horseshoe Lake Charles
Horseshoe Lake Charles (@HorseshoeLC) officially comes ashore on Dec 12, 2022. This legendary 60,000-sq-ft property will be the ultimate gambling experience for guests including new rooms, restaurants, and a variety of entertainment.
Details: https://t.co/StKlIK3TlB pic.twitter.com/iN1l6Bvp17
— Horseshoe Lake Charles (@HorseshoeLC) October 26, 2022
The 60,000 square foot property will boast almost 1,000 slot machines and table games, as well as a World Series of Poker room, an all-new Caesars Sportsbook, and a 253-room hotel designed with inspiration from local scenery It will also have several food and beverage options, including multi-Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay’s Gordon Ramsay Steak which is expected to open in mid-2023.
Popular names in the casino’s impressive culinary lineup that will be open beginning December 12 include Brew Brothers, the award-winning brewpub founded by the Carano family in 1957, Seven Noodle Bar, a Pan-Asian inspired noodles restaurant that features stir-fried entrees, hearty soups, sushi, and an assortment of noodle dishes, and Slice Pizzeria and Pizza. Meanwhile, Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins are expected to open sometime in 2023.
The new Lake Charles Casino will be the second under the Horseshoe brand with Horseshoe Bossier City located less than 200 miles from the new resort being the other. Caesars also has two other casino properties in Bayou State, namely Caesars New Orleans and Harrah’s New Orleans. The gaming company also holds the naming rights to the New Orleans Saints stadium.
Stuck Under the I-10 Bridge
Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles Louisiana breaks mooring and gets stuck under the I-10 bridge. pic.twitter.com/6VJNsKUP94
— Eric Lipson #VoteLikeItsYourLastTime (@lipsoneric) August 27, 2020
The Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles was the first riverboat casino to be given approval by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to move onto land in December 2019. The new $112.7 million casino project was supposed to open in May 2021, but the existing riverboat casino and the land-based site of the new resort were destroyed by Hurricane Laura in August 2020.
It can be recalled that in the wake of the Category 4 hurricane, the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles was turned loose from its moorings and became stuck under the Calcasieu River Bridge on the I-10 for several hours. While the other Lake Charles casinos that were damaged by the hurricane later opened, the Isle remained closed.
In August 2021, Caesars Entertainment announced that construction of the new casino had commenced and that the plan was to reopen the Isle as the Horseshoe Casino Lake Charles in the fall of 2022. Although the new site won’t make it to its projected autumn deadline, the casino will finally be reopening before the end of 2022.
