Officials broke ground Tuesday on Kenners new land-based Treasure Chest casino, a more than $100 million development that will replace the aging riverboat of the same name in early 2024.

Located at the north end of Williams Boulevard at Lake Pontchartrain, the state-of-the-art facility owned by Boyd Gaming will include a 47,000-square-foot gambling hall twice the size of its water-based counterpart and 10,000 square feet of convention space, alongside new restaurants, bars and a FanDuel Sportsbook.

With the new set-up, we anticipate increased revenue to the residents of the city of Kenner, which will aid in capital projects, Mayor Michael Glaser said. "This is a wonderful day in Kenner."

The project is part of a larger push to revitalize Kenners Laketown area into a new entertainment destination. In August, the Jefferson Parish Council set aside more than $2 million to renovate the nearby boat launch on Lake Pontchatrain.

And last year, Las Vegas-based Atlantis Gaming announced plans for a new $450 million, 40-acre total destination resort in Laketown, with shops, condominiums and, possibly, gambling. The status of that development, however, remains up in the air.

Donald Bailey, president and CEO of Atlantis Gaming, said the company is nearing the end of negotiations with the state on securing a lake bottom lease.Much of the project would be built over water on eight specially constructed concrete barges.

Glaser said that during an introductory meeting last month, officials with Atlantis Gaming told him the cost of the project had ballooned to $700 million. He questioned what sort of revenue source could support such an investment.

Nonetheless, local officials were upbeat at Tuesdays Treasure Chest groundbreaking, with Kenner City Councilman Joey LaHatte calling it the "start of the revitalization of Laketown," which also includes the Pontchartrain Center events hall.

Treasure Chest's riverboat casino, which opened in 1994, has generated millions of dollars in revenue for the city and serves as the primary funding source for Kenner's long-term capital projects.

Jefferson Parish Council Member Dominick Impastato noted that the casino's expansion is not only a win for economic development, but also for the city's overall infrastructure.

"Literally every citizen in the city of Kenner benefits from the success of the Treasure Chest," Impastato said.

The Treasure Chest is among the first floating casinos to take advantage of a 2018 change in state law that allowed riverboats to move their operations onto land. Keith Smith, president and CEO of the Nevada-based Boyd Gaming, thanked Ronnie Johns, current chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, for sponsoring that legislation as a state senator. He also lauded city and parish leaders for their support.

"With this project, we'll be taking the Treasure Chest to a new level, and with it, our investment in this great community," Smith said.

Construction on the land-based casino will take 12-15 months, Smith said. The facility will be built on what used to be a parking lot for riverboat patrons. A new parking lot, which riverboat customers can use during construction, is almost complete.

LaHatte, who represents the Laketown area on the Kenner City Council, called the development a "blessing," noting that Kenner residents will no longer need to leave the city for entertainment.

"Everybody's excited about it," LaHatte said. "It's something that the area needs."

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Kenner's Treasure Chest casino breaks ground on $100 million land-based gambling hall - NOLA.com