HARVEY, LA- Adding a boost to its Big Easy property, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. will put an estimated $145 million into upgrading and expanding its Boomtown Casino New Orleans. Once completed in 2008, the current casino and entertainment center will offer a 200-room four-star hotel, more meeting space and restaurants and a new gaming barge, among other amenities.

Located in the area's West Bank at 4132 Peters Rd. the 54-acre Boomtown Casino New Orleans was acquired by Pinnacle in 1997 and upgrades will begin during Q1 2007. Though the 12-year-old entertainment complex had to shut down temporarily in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it has ended up being a strong asset for the Las Vegas-based entertainment giant.

"We've been in the community for a long time, and if you look at how the property is performing, it's doing incredibly well," says a Pinnacle spokeswoman. "We absolutely believe in the long-term potential of that market, or we wouldn't be planning the renovation."

The spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com that while the goal is to keep the local regulars coming in, the new and improved Boomtown will be a destination location not only for tourists but for potential regional meetings.

In addition to the hotel and gaming riverboat, the Boomtown expansion will include a spa and salon; a nightclub and restaurant, an employee dining area and a refurbishment and expansion of the existing buffet. Bergman, Walls & Associates, Ltd. in Las Vegas is designing the expansion. A general contractor has not been selected.

The spokeswoman says that, once completed, the future Boomtown will be similar to its sister property L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino at 777 Avenue L'Auberge in Lake Charles. Bergman Walls also designed that property. "We're excited to be doing a nicer product in New Orleans," she adds. "We want to make the commitment and investment here, and take it to a different level."