Week in Review: Jan. 3-7: Treasure Chest, Blue Williams, Tax Changes and More

NEW ORLEANS — Here are some of the week’s top business stories:

Boyd Gaming Corporation has announced plans to develop a new Treasure Chest Casino facility in Kenner. The gaming company plans to replace the existing riverboat casino with a “state-of-the-art, land-based gaming facility,” according to a press release following a Jan. 5 press conference. The new casino is expected to open for business in late 2023. The single-level facility will feature a 47,000-square-foot casino, several new restaurants and bars, nearly 10,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a FanDuel-branded sports book, and parking directly adjacent to the casino entrance. “With this project, we are proud to reinvest in a community that has been an important part of the Boyd Gaming family for more than 27 years,” said Keith Smith, the company’s president and chief executive officer, in a press release. “The all-new Treasure Chest will bring more jobs, more tax revenue and more visitors for the City of Kenner and Jefferson Parish – and it will significantly enhance the Treasure Chest experience, giving our guests a bigger and better gaming entertainment experience than ever before.” …

Quality Senior Living Partners, a LongueVue Capital portfolio company, announced the sale of two senior living communities – The Blake at Colonial Club (in Harahan, La.)  and The Blake at Charlottesville (Virginia) — to a publicly traded real estate investment trust. The two Blakes are both 118-unit assisted living and memory care communities. LongueVue Capital is a private equity firm based in New Orleans with offices in New York and Salt Lake City. Founded in 2001, it claims to have more than $500 million under management across 20-plus platform companies and three funds. In 2017, LongueVue partnered with QSLP — a Pensacola, Florida-based developer, owner and operator of senior housing communities — to build more of its private-pay, “resort-style” communities that don’t charge buy-in community fees. QSLP has launched facilities in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia. …

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Metairie-based law firm Blue Williams and Houston’s Thompson & Reilley have joined forces to create a regional practice with four offices throughout Louisiana and Texas. The combined firm, which debuted on Jan. 1, will continue its operations in all offices under the Blue Williams banner. “We welcome our new colleagues who have chosen to join our team so we can now provide excellent service for the benefit of our respective clients throughout Louisiana and Texas,” said Steve Pizzo, senior managing partner at Blue Williams, in a press release. …

Louisiana’s medical marijuana program will offer raw, smokable cannabis to its patients, and the state will tweak its calculations for state income taxes as more than two dozen new laws take effect Saturday with the start of the new year. Most of the new laws were passed in the regular legislative session that lawmakers wrapped up in June. Voters approved the income tax changes in the fall after lawmakers sent the measure to the ballot for consideration. (AP) …

Louisianans making more than $50,000 a year will pay a lower state income tax rate in 2022. Voters went to the polls in November to consider four ballot amendments dealing with tax and budget issues; only Amendment 2 passed. The proposal offered to lower the state’s top income tax rate from 6% to 4.75%, as well as strip a federal tax deduction requirement from the state’s constitution. The changes go into effect Saturday. Other changes also apply, as three separate tax reform statutes passed by the Louisiana Legislature hinged on the amendment’s success. (The Center Square)

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