PENN Plans $195 Million Landside Hollywood Casino New Orleans

PENN Entertainment announced on August 17, 2026 that it plans to invest approximately $195 million to relocate its Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans riverboat casino operations to a new landside property on adjacent land, rebranding the Jefferson Parish site as Hollywood Casino New Orleans. The project is pending regulatory approval.

If approved, Hollywood Casino New Orleans is expected to open in 2029 with roughly 140,000 square feet of new development, approximately 875 slot machines, 45 table games, a retail sportsbook, and multiple dining options, according to the company’s announcement. The existing riverboat will be vacated once the new property opens, and PENN expects to keep the existing hotel open at this time.

“This investment reflects our disciplined approach to capital allocation, prioritizing organic growth opportunities that build on our operational strengths and are expected to deliver compelling returns,” said Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment, in the release.

Snowden framed the project as the company’s fourth landside move in recent years, following the openings of Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet in Illinois and the expected opening of Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs in Iowa in 2028. “As with our previous relocations, we expect our new facility to enhance the customer experience and strengthen the property’s competitive position in the New Orleans market,” he said.

PENN’s Landside Relocation Program Reaches Louisiana

The Aurora template is the freshest. PENN celebrated the grand opening of the Hollywood Casino and Hotel Aurora on June 24, 2026, a $360 million land-based casino and hotel replacing a riverboat that had operated on the Illinois shores of the Fox River since 1993. Gaming.net covered that property’s relaunch and relocation when it opened. Early returns are encouraging, per management: Snowden told investors on the August 6, 2026 earnings release that visitation trends at both Aurora and the new hotel tower at Hollywood Columbus were strong, including from VIP players, contributing to what he described as record quarterly Retail segment revenues.

Louisiana law has permitted this kind of move since 2018, when the state legislature passed and the governor signed SB 316, effective May 23, 2018. Louisiana lawmakers passed SB 316 in 2018, a riverboat gaming bill signed by the governor as Act 469, effective May 23, 2018, under which PENN is pursuing its relocation to adjacent land. PENN’s plan, relocating operations to adjacent land, fits squarely inside that framework.

The project still requires sign-off from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and the Jefferson Parish Council, a point Snowden acknowledged directly: “Today’s announcement highlights our continued commitment to reinvesting in our facilities and team members, and we look forward to working with the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and Jefferson Parish Council to add yet another best-in-class property to our national footprint.”

Financing and Balance-Sheet Context

PENN said it expects to finance the project with cash on hand but may also access its balance sheet or other sources of liquidity. As of June 30, 2026, the company reported total liquidity of $1.9 billion, including $887.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, against traditional net debt of $1.9 billion, per its second-quarter results. Traditional net leverage stood at 2.9x as of that date, down from 4.5x at year-end 2025, and the lease-adjusted net leverage ratio improved to 5.9x from 6.8x over the same period.

The balance sheet has been actively managed this year. In April 2026, PENN refinanced and extended its $1.0 billion revolving credit facility and $446.9 million Term Loan A to April 2031. In May 2026, it repaid the remaining $106.7 million principal balance of its 2.75% convertible notes due 2026, eliminating approximately 4.6 million potentially dilutive shares, and repriced and extended its $962.5 million Term Loan B to May 2033.

PENN’s Louisiana Footprint

Boomtown New Orleans, located on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish in Harvey, Louisiana, about 15 minutes from the French Quarter, currently operates over 700 video slot and video poker games, a live poker room, more than 20 table games, a 150-room hotel, and multiple restaurants including NOLA Steak and Asia Restaurant. The planned landside property would grow the slot count from over 700 to approximately 875 and roughly double the table game count from over 20 to 45, while adding a purpose-built retail sportsbook.

The property sits in PENN’s South segment, which generated $301.9 million in revenue and $109.0 million in Segment Adjusted EBITDAR in the second quarter of 2026. PENN operates four other casino destinations in Louisiana: L’Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles, L’Auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge, and Margaritaville Resort Casino and Boomtown Casino Hotel in Bossier City. The company employs over 3,500 Louisianans and contributes over $200 million in state and local taxes annually, per the announcement.

The landside move extends a broader industry shift away from riverboat vessels toward modern onshore facilities, a trend Gaming.net has tracked in its coverage of the evolution of riverboat gaming. For PENN, the $195 million commitment in New Orleans is the next capital deployment in a relocation program that has already produced Aurora and Joliet, with Council Bluffs still to come in 2028.