Isle of Capri completes sale of small Louisiana riverboat casino

Isle of Capri Casinos completed the sale of a smallest of its two riverboat casinos in Lake Charles, La., to a company that plans to move the license to Bossier City.

The $15 million sale allows Isle of Capri to consolidate its Lake Charles operations into one casino with 1,262 slot machines, 40 table games and eight poker tables.

Isle of Capri CEO Virginia McDowell said the company would begin room renovations in the Lake Charles hotel tower in the coming months.

“The sale allows us to run a more efficient operation and in combination with recent renovations to the casino, significantly enhance our guest experience in Lake Charles,” McDowell said.

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said Lake Charles is going to get increased competition in 2013 with the planned $400 million Mojito Pointe, a joint venture between Dan Lee’s Creative Casinos and MGM Resorts International.

“With the company basically maintaining their exposure to the Lake Charles market, we think this transaction is a step in the right direction for the company's ability to right the ship,” Beynon told investors.