Margaritaville closes on financing for Louisiana casino

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Bossier Casino Venture, LLC (d/b/a Margaritaville Resort Casino) has closed its project financing for the Margaritaville Resort Casino to be built in Bossier City, La.

Construction on the $197 million casino and hotel resort is expected to commence immediately and extend for approximately 16 months, with a targeted opening date in June 2013.

The resort will feature a 30,000-square-foot, single-level gaming floor, unlike the other existing riverboat gaming facilities in the Shreveport-Bossier City market. The casino will include over 1,300 slot machines and 46 table games. The project will also feature a 396-room, 18-story hotel, a 900-seat entertainment venue, spa and fitness center, outdoor pool deck and dining area, landscaping and four food and beverage outlets, including the trademark Margaritaville Restaurant.

Concurrently with the closing of the project financing, Bossier Casino Venture exercised its option with Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. and acquired Grand Palais Riverboat Inc., including the gaming license held by that entity.  The movement of the license to Bossier Parish has previously been approved by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and the voters in Bossier Parish.

Margaritaville will be the sixth casino in the Shreveport-Bossier City gaming market and the first new facility in more than a decade. The Margaritaville Resort Casino in Bossier City will be the third and largest Margaritaville-themed casino, with one location open in Las Vegas, Nev., and another expected to open within the next few months in Biloxi.

The Margaritaville Resort Casino project will be located on the Red River, adjacent to the Louisiana Boardwalk.

Houlihan Lokey and Macquarie Capital served as joint-bookrunners on the project financing.