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Introduction to Louisiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020. Louisiana slot machine casino gambling consists of 24 casinos including 16 commercial casinos, four tribal casinos, four pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, and numerous small businesses across Louisiana. Theoretical payout limits exist and monthly return statistics are available for non-tribal sites.

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Introduction to Louisiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Louisiana slot machine casino gambling consists of 24 casinos including 16 commercial casinos, four tribal casinos, four pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines, and numerous small businesses across Louisiana.

Theoretical payout limits exist and monthly return statistics are available for non-tribal sites.

This post continues my weekly State-By-State Slot Machine Casino Gambling Series, an online resource dedicated to guiding slot machine casino gambler to success. Now in its third year, each weekly post reviews slots gambling in a single U.S. state, territory, or federal district.

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Relevant Legal Statutes on Gambling in Louisiana*

The minimum legal gambling age in Louisiana depends upon the gambling activity:

Land-Based Casinos: 21
Poker Rooms: 21
Bingo: 18
Lottery: 21
Pari-Mutuel Wagering: 18

Louisiana has had a long history of illegal casinos, with the state alternating between raiding illegal casino operations and ignoring them. Eventually, pari-mutuel wagering received state-approval in the 1920s. The collapse of the state’s oil-based industry in the 1980s led to the extended presence of legalized gambling.

Louisiana was the fourth U.S. state to legalize riverboat casinos, approved by the state in 1991 along with the return of the state lottery. In 1992, an added provision allowed a land-based casino in New Orleans.

Negotiations began in 1993 for state-tribal compacts with Louisiana’s three federally-recognized American Indian tribes. A fourth American Indian tribe, federally-recognized in 2002, also negotiated a state-tribal compact. Each tribe opened their own tribal casino.

In 1997, efforts by the three pari-mutuel racetracks to add slot machines to their facilities were successful. Later, a fourth track received similar approval.

The gaming industry has become an important part of Louisiana’s culture and economy. Video bingo is the primary type of electronic gaming machine available.

However, the wording used in some parts of the state gaming regulations is ambiguous. For example, a loose definition for “truck stops” has allowed the addition and spread of video poker machines at many businesses across the state.

*The purpose of this section is to inform the public of state gambling laws and how the laws might apply to various forms of gaming. It is not legal advice.

Slot Machine Private Ownership in Louisiana

In Louisiana, it is legal to own a slot machine privately if it is 25 years old or older.

Gaming Control Board in Louisiana

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board regulates the gaming industry in Louisiana. The LGCB works closely with the Gaming Enforcement Division within the Louisiana State Police.

Casinos in Louisiana

There are 20 non-tribal casinos, four American Indian tribal casinos, four pari-mutuel racetracks, and 12,903 video poker machines at 1,634 retail businesses in Louisiana.

The largest casino in Louisiana is Coushatta Casino Resort with 2,800 gaming machines and 70 table games.

The second-largest casino is Paragon Casino Resort with 2,200 gaming machines and 44 table games.

Commercial Casinos in Louisiana

The 20 commercial casinos in Louisiana including 15 riverboat casinos, four pari-mutuel sites with slot machines, and one land-based casino:

Amelia Belle Casino in Amelia located 79 miles west of New Orleans.
Belle of Baton Rouge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge located 81 miles northwest of New Orleans.
Boomtown Bossier City located 216 miles west of Jackson, MS.
Boomtown New Orleans in Harvey located 11 miles south of New Orleans.
Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel in Vinton located 140 miles northeast of Galveston, TX.
DiamondJacks Casino Hotel Bossier City located 216 miles west of Jackson, MS.
Eldorado Resort Casino Shreveport located 217 miles west of Jackson, MS.
Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel in Opelousas located 137 miles northwest of New Orleans.
Fair Grounds Racecourse & Slots in New Orleans.
Golden Nugget Lake Charles located 162 miles northeast of Galveston, Texas.
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs in Bossier City located 210 miles west of Jackson, Mississippi.
Harrah’s New Orleans Casino & Hotel.
Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge located 83 miles northwest of New Orleans.
Horseshoe Bossier City located 216 miles west of Jackson, MS.
Isle of Capri Casino Hotel Lake Charles located 163 miles northeast of Galveston, Texas.
L’auberge Casino Hotel Baton Rouge located 75 miles northwest of New Orleans.
L’auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles located 163 miles northeast of Galveston, Texas.
Margaritaville Resort Casino Bossier City located 216 miles west of Jackson, Mississippi.
Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino Shreveport located 216 miles west of Jackson, Mississippi.
Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner located 15 miles northwest of New Orleans.

Tribal Casinos in Louisiana

There are four tribal casinos in Louisiana:

Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder located 199 miles west of New Orleans.
Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel in Charenton located 117 miles west of New Orleans.
Jena Choctaw Pines Casino in Dry Prong located 201 miles northwest of New Orleans.
Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville located 163 miles northwest of New Orleans.

Other Gambling Establishments

As an alternative to enjoying Louisiana slot machine casino gambling, consider exploring casino options in a nearby state. Bordering Louisiana is:

North: Arkansas Slots
East: Mississippi Slots
South: Gulf of Mexico
West: Texas Slots

Each of the links above will take you to my blog for that neighboring U.S. state to Louisiana.

Our Louisiana Slots Facebook Group

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Are you interested in sharing and learning with other slots enthusiasts in Louisiana? If so, join our new Louisiana slots community on Facebook. All you’ll need is a Facebook profile to join this closed Facebook Group freely.

There, you’ll be able to privately share your slots experiences as well as chat with players about slots gambling in Louisiana. Join us!

Payout Returns in Louisiana

Theoretical payout limits are:

80% to 99.9% at non-tribal casinos.
80% to 94% for video poker machines at retail locations.
Not available for tribal casinos.

Monthly return statistics are within Louisiana’s Gaming Enforcement Division Gaming Board’s Revenue Reports. Further, these reports offer return statistics for each slot machine denomination.

However, statistics are reported for non-tribal casinos statewide as well as within only four state regions with casinos sorted by region as follows:

Baton Rouge Region: Belle of Baton Rouge, Evangeline Downs, Hollywood, and L’auberge Baton Rouge.
Lake Charles Region: Delta Downs, Golden Nugget, Isle of Capri, and L’Auberge Lake Charles.
New Orleans Region: Amelia Belle, Boomtown New Orleans, Fair Grounds, Harrah’s, and Treasure Chest.
Shreveport/Bossier Region: Boomtown Bossier, DiamondJacks, Eldorado, Harrah’s LA Downs, Horseshoe, Margaritaville, and Sam’s Town.

The October 2019 report shows a state-wide return of 90.3% for all commercial casinos. Each region had the following player’s win percentages:

Baton Rouge Region: 90.2%
Lake Charles Region: 90.6%
New Orleans Region: 90.1%
Shreveport/Bossier Region: 90.3%
State-wide: 90.3%

The slot machine denomination with the highest and second-highest win percentages for each region were:

Baton Rouge Region: 50-cent at 97.9% and $2 at 92.6%.
Lake Charles Region: $100 at 95.1% and both 5-cent and $10 at 93.1%.
New Orleans Region: $500 at 120.8%, $50 at 101.6%, and 5-cent at 93.8%.
Shreveport/Bossier Region: $25 at 93.2% and 2-cent at 92.89%.
State-wide: $500 at 120.8% and 50-cent at 92.9%.

These reports helpfully include the number of slot machines with each denomination. For instance, there are only eight $2-denomination machines in the Baton Rouge Region where their average player win% is the second-highest for that region. So few $2 slot machines improves the likelihood of locating and playing these high-odds machines.

Less helpful are the limited monthly return statistics available from the Louisiana Gaming Board’s Revenue Reports separated by casino type. Unfortunately, these return statistics reports have insufficient information to calculate player’s win percentages:

Summary of Louisiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling in 2020

Louisiana slot machine casino gambling consists of 24 casinos including sixteen riverboat casinos, four tribal casinos and four pari-mutuel racetracks with slot machines. Further, there are 12,903 legal video poker machines at 1,634 retail locations across the state.

Minimum and maximum theoretical payout limits exist for the non-tribal gaming locations. Return statistics exist for commercial casinos in four state regions, including for each slot machine denomination. Louisiana’s tribal casinos do not have theoretical payout limits nor do they offer return statistics.

Annual Progress in Louisiana Slot Machine Casino Gambling

In the last year, Harrah’s New Orleans went from second-largest casino to seventh place when they more than halved their slot machines from 3,800 to 1,500.

It may be a rustic Louisiana racino, but Delta Downs is one of Boyd Gaming’s top properties. Here’s why.

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by Karrie L. Zukowski & J. Phillip Vogel

Nestled on the Texas border—about two hours drive from Houston, Texas—the town of Vinton, Louisiana is home to one of the most charming and memorable places a gambler could hope to visit: Delta Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel. If you haven’t been there, frankly, you’re missing out on what a casino experience should be.

A flawless combination of rustic charm and modern convenience, Delta Downs proudly touts its down-home appeal and almost family style approach to gaming. This is not your overbearing, neon lit, over-the-top Vegas mega-casino.

“It’s really about southern hospitality here—our employees truly take care of customers and they enjoy doing it,” said Tina Matte, Player Development Director at Delta Downs. “I think that if you go to our competitors, you might see some things that are much more mechanical in nature. The people who work here want to be here, and they enjoy helping people and making people happy. I think that’s why so many of our customers stick with us, rather than go someplace flashier. It’s the way we treat our players.”

The casino is decorated with a blue sky mural and the upper walls are adorned with Louisiana style building facades to give the casino an outdoor feel. It’s a warm, inviting, and exciting place to spend the evening playing your favorite slots or betting on the horses. You can have a great meal at any one of their five restaurants, take in a show, have fun and probably even make some friends among the gregarious staff. Seriously, there’s a pretty good chance at some point in the evening you’re gonna get a hug.

“Our focus is we’re down to earth, home away from home. Some people like the glitz of Vegas, and some people just like to feel at home when they come in, get treated very well and be remembered,” said Steve Kuypers, Vice President and General Manager of Delta Downs. “On a Saturday night you have no idea how many hugs are given by team members to players. It’s unbelievable—you have to be here to see it.”

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Boasting an extensive collection of the most popular slots and video machines—including a separate high-limit area—Delta Downs combines fast action and friendly service to provide an exceptional playground for slot enthusiasts. “We have 1,600 slots. While we are a racetrack as well, basically we’re an all slots casinos. In our market that’s what makes us stand out the most,” said Adrian King, Regional Director of Marketing for Boyd Gaming. “Every month we’re getting in new games—we’re constantly evaluating the floor.”

It’s that level of attention that makes Delta Downs a special place for slot players. You can take a spin down Penny Lane, where there are more bonuses, more often. Or focus in on an ever-widening range of the hottest new games, soaking in the incredible graphics and sounds. But if you’re more of an old school slot purist, you can still settle in with a comfortable favorite that you’ve been playing for years.

“In a nutshell we’ve got a great combination of the old and the new. So if you want to play the new multi-line 3D video slots or old school games we have those. While on one hand we want to keep it current, because there are a lot of new things that come out, we also realize it’s not what the casino wants, it’s what the guest wants,” said King. “If the guests want older single line, 3-reel games, and a lot of them are playing it, we’ll go through heaven and hell to make sure we keep that game running.”

Even though the slots side of the equation is a bigger draw for most visitors, at its roots Delta Downs is a racetrack and has a loyal—even generational—following for horse racing. They offer perhaps the best live racing in the region and work diligently to support their racing and racing fans, creating unique events like the recently held the 12^th running of the $1,000,000 Delta Downs Jackpot.

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“The $1,000,000 Delta Downs Jackpot is the centerpiece of an 11-race program that features eight stakes races, two graded stakes, and over $2.3 million in total purse money,” said Kuypers. “We are ecstatic about Delta Downs’ richest race day of the year. The winner of [the] main event earns a $600,000 paycheck and 10 points toward a possible starting position in next year’s Kentucky Derby by way of the ‘Road to the Kentucky Derby’ series.”

Delta Downs offers ample seating in grandstands and a state-of-the art track and betting parlor. Wagering via simulcast is 364 days a year (Closed Christmas Day) on events from coast to coast and around the world. The OTB parlor even includes a glass enclosed non-smoking area to provide for all guests’ comfort. For live racing, amenities include covered track patio seating, covered seating in paddock, and a climate controlled grandstand with reserved seating.

Kuypers added. “We really went out and worked with the trainers, the owners to find out what we could do to make Delta Downs the #1 nighttime track. And once again we’re the only track in the country that’s up year over year.”

Staying’s Half the Fun

Everything that Delta Downs does is warm, inviting, and with the guest in mind. And their quaint hotel with more than 200 delightfully appointed rooms is certainly no exception to the rule.

The modern style of the Deluxe Rooms feature soothing browns with vibrant splashes of color to create an inviting atmosphere. The rooms come equipped with a king or two queen beds, sitting area, in-room safe, flat screen cable TV, a spacious bathroom with stand-alone glass shower, refrigerator and complimentary high speed Internet access. The Mini Suites offer the same soothing atmosphere and extras, but with 534 square feet of space, a king sized bed and a separate Jacuzzi tub.

For a bit of luxury choose the One Bed Room Suite or the Super Suite. The one bedroom suite has 609 square feet of living space with a king bedroom, plush armchair, spacious bathroom with a glass-enclosed shower, separate Jacuzzi tub, full bath amenities, sitting area, table and chairs, two flat screen TVs, microwave, wet bar, refrigerator and two complimentary deluxe robes. The Super Suite is 908 square feet with a spacious sitting area, dining table, desk, separate half bath, plus all of the other extras Delta Downs offers guests.

Ain’t No Party Like a Delta Downs Party

While so much of what Delta Downs does is unique and geared for their audience, perhaps nothing says more about the property than their “special” events—where just about everyone on the floor is dressed in some wacky costume, with themes ranging from Christmas elves during the holidays to campy television shows from the 70s and 80s . And the guests just adore it.

“There are times where everyone is all in cowboy gear. Or if it’s a 70s party—like what we did for New Year’s Eve—we had a Starsky & Hutch theme. It’s just a lot of fun,” said Matte.

King agreed, recalling his recent costume “I had a big 70s fro, one of those leisure suits, and the big high heel shoes with the fish in the heels,” laughed King. “That was a painful experience!”

How they managed to get a hold of the shoes is anyone’s guess.

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“From a brand perspective, there ain’t no party like a Delta Downs party. But to us, it makes it fun. Any casino can offer a car giveaway or cash in the mail.”

Even the boss isn’t immune to the well-conceived shenanigans. “I’ll even dress up—we do a lot of dress up here. Our promotions are to die for. You can’t just have a casino and expect people to come.”

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino& Hotel has a mix of gaming excitement, horse racing action and pageantry, multi-screen off-track betting, live entertainment and delicious food. But what shines through most are the property’s incredible staff and their dedication to the players.

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“This is truly the best place that I’ve worked, and that’s from atop down leadership,” said Matte. “Steve Kuypers—he truly is a leader that goes out there and practices what he preaches with a mantra of ‘Happy team members make happy customers.’ And there is a genuine concern for team members and customers that he shows every single day. You can’t fake that.”

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