Belle of Baton Rouge Riverboat Sets Sail After Three Decades Docked on Mississippi
Posted on: January 15, 2025, 10:10h.
Last updated on: January 15, 2025, 10:20h.
The former Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat has officially called it a career on the Mississippi River.

On Tuesday, the four-deck sternwheeler built by the now-defunct Avondale Shipyard was towed from its more than three-decade barge just north of the Interstate 10 Horace Wilkinson Bridge. The riverboat’s final bets were placed on the casino’s final day of operation, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024.
The Belle of Baton Rouge riverboat housed approximately 350 slot machines and 10 live dealer table games. Opened in September 1994, the riverboat’s operator, Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., an Illinois-based regional gaming operator with properties in Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana, along with its landlord, Penn Entertainment’s Gaming and Leisure Properties, decided to embark on a $141 million transformation of the Belle of Baton Rouge.
The project involves sinking the storied riverboat in favor of a new 25K-square-foot land-based casino that will allow for more slots (750) and tables (24), plus a sportsbook. The forthcoming casino will occupy the Belle’s former atrium.
Boat Tugged Away
Queen Casino & Entertainment is responsible for $30 million of the $141 renovation, with GLPI bankrolling $111 million. The funds included towing away the riverboat.
WBRZ, an ABC affiliate, reported this week that the boat was moved to Terrebonne Parish where it will be dismantled and recycled. Louisiana Scrap Metal is handling the disassembly.
We’re looking towards the future with great excitement. The riverboat sendoff shows that things are changing in downtown Baton Rouge,” said Belle of Baton Rouge General Manager Richard Cannon.
Queen Casino officials are optimistic about a Baton Rouge resurgence. Along with its Belle overhaul, the company in 2023 completed a more than $100 million investment to bring the Queen Baton Rouge ashore just up the river from the Belle.
The Queen bet is already paying off, as the former Hollywood boat has seen gross gaming revenues (GGR) surge since its land-based opening in August 2023.
Queen Baton Rouge GGR in the 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024), totaled nearly $80.5 million. During the 2023 fiscal year, the boat then known as Hollywood won $52 million off players.
Back at the Belle, Queen Casino and GLPI are overhauling all 242 guestrooms in the existing 10-story hotel. The hotel has remained closed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hotel room supply is most needed during home games of the Louisiana State University Tigers. The Belle is just two miles north of Tigers Stadium, which holds over 52K fans, with thousands more tailgating and coming to town on Saturdays to cheer on LSU.
Temporary Casino, New Name
While work continues on the Belle of Baton Rouge hotel renovation and construction of the brick-and-mortar casino, a temporary 10K-square-foot casino with 220 slots and three tables is up and running.
Though Casino Queen & Entertainment hasn’t confirmed the rumors, it’s suspected that the new land-based casino resort will receive a new name, with Catfish Town among the front-runners. The new casino resort is slated to open this fall.
In 2018, Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation allowing riverboats to move inland so long as they remain within 800 feet of their former barges.
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