From Riverboat to Landside in 2029 – PENN Entertainment’s Jay Snowden Plans a $195M Hollywood Casino New Orleans
PENN Entertainment has announced plans to invest approximately $195 million to relocate its Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans riverboat operations to a new landside property on adjacent land, rebranding it as Hollywood Casino New Orleans. The move is pending regulatory approval. If it goes ahead, the new property is expected to open in 2029, with roughly 140,000 square feet of new development, around 875 slot machines, 45 table games, a retail sportsbook and multiple dining options.
What the Hollywood Casino New Orleans Plan Actually Involves
The numbers are specific. Approximately $195 million in investment. Roughly 140,000 square feet. Around 875 slot machines and 45 table games. A retail sportsbook and multiple dining options. The existing riverboat would be vacated once the new property opens, and PENN expects to keep the current 150-room hotel running.
The property sits on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish in Harvey, Louisiana, about 15 minutes from the French Quarter. PENN says it plans to finance the project with cash on hand, though it may also access its balance sheet or other sources of liquidity. None of it is committed yet. The whole plan rests on a regulatory green light.
Why the New Orleans Gaming Investment Matters Now
This is not PENN’s first time making this exact move. It is the fourth landside relocation the group has lined up 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.
That repetition is the story. A single relocation is a property decision. Four is a playbook. PENN appears to have settled on riverboat-to-landside conversion as a reliable way to reinvest, and it keeps returning to the same template across different states.
Why the Landside Move Lowers PENN’s Risk
Here’s what a rival operator or an investor actually takes from this. Landside conversion is a lower-risk growth route than entering a new market. The licence already exists. The customer base is known. The upside comes from a better physical product, not from a speculative bet on an untested jurisdiction.
PENN already operates four other casinos in Louisiana and says it employs over 3,500 people in the state while contributing over $200 million in state and local taxes annually. This is a group reinvesting where it is already deeply embedded, not planting a flag somewhere new. For anyone modelling US retail casino capital flows, that distinction shapes the whole read.
CEO Jay Snowden tied the decision directly to capital discipline. “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,” he said. On the competitive angle, he set the New Orleans move against PENN’s earlier ones: “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.” Read together, the two lines frame this as a defensive-and-offensive move at once: protect a known revenue base, and sharpen it against local competition.
The Regulatory Approval PENN Still Needs
Nothing here is guaranteed. Every figure PENN has released is conditional on regulatory approval, and the company has been careful to say so. Opening is targeted for 2029, which is a long runway, and construction timelines on projects of this scale rarely stay perfectly still. The plan is credible and specific. It is also, for now, a plan.
What Comes Next for the Regulated Gaming Market?
Expect the immediate focus to land on the approval process, since that gate determines whether any of this proceeds. Beyond it, the more telling signal is strategic: PENN’s fourth landside conversion suggests the group will keep favouring reinvestment in established properties over new-market expansion, and other US operators sitting on ageing riverboat licences may weigh the same route. For the New Orleans area, the payoff would be a more competitive landside offering by the end of the decade, giving local players a modern venue and giving PENN a stronger hold on a market it already knows well. The takeaway is simple enough: in a maturing US casino sector, the smartest growth is increasingly about upgrading what you own rather than buying somewhere new.
Source: PENN Entertainment
