re: Business Report: Land Based Casino a likely possibility in Baton Rouge

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The casino portion that is. Everything else is on land. Also why was this ever a thing in the first place? Is there some moral benefit to not having a brick and mortar building or something?

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Initially it had to be a boat and maintain a cruise schedule.

Belle of Baton Rouge and Casino Rouge used to drive around the river, as gaming wasn't technically legal on land. That's why The Belle is a cramped, multi level boat built on top of a barge platform.

They removed the requirement that they actually operate a cruise schedule, and the newer casinos got much nicer (L'auberge). Having them locate a much more flexible, more open casino floor right next to the hotels, restaurants, and parking would probably enable nicer properties.

It would probably be better for both revenue and tourism if Casinos like The Belle were allowed to move to a space actually designed to be a Casino on land.

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Also why was this ever a thing in the first place? Is there some moral benefit to not having a brick and mortar building or something?

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When casino gambling was legalized in LA the law allowed for one land based casino license and twelve (I think) "riverboat" casinos. The land based license included certain guarantees (min. square footage, min. # of employees, min. payments regardless of profitability) to the state in exchange for having a land based monopoly. It also allowed EWE to extort the maximum amount from the competing gaming companies.

The "riverboats" had to sail for a minimum period (I think it was originally 3 hours) and a minimum number of times daily, unless maritime conditions were unsafe. The casinos used this to their advantage, because nobody wanted to be stuck on the boat after they'd lost their rent money. All of them had high profiles, so winds over X mph made it "unsafe" to sail. The one on the N.O. Riverfront stopped sailing whenever the river was high. Eventually, none of them were sailing, but the law still said the casino had to be over water. This is how some ended up being built in artificial lakes only slightly larger than the gaming floor itself.

I'm pretty sure the law still only allows for one land based casino. Harrah's paid a premium for their license. I doubt they'll agree to another land based casino w/o receiving some type of compensation.