Fair Grounds Getting Slot Machine Casino

For a track that has been around since 1872, the Fair Grounds Race Course (FGRC) has supported itself for years, but they say that has gotten harder and harder to do without slot machine revenue. They have decided to bring in a slot machine casino to assist them with bringing in clientele, and thus increasing the revenue they can pay in their purses.

FGRC had decided to open a slot machine casino, and was about to break ground when Hurricane Katrina hit. The permanent location was supposed to begin construction in September of 2005, but will now be starting construction this summer instead. They expect that the facility will be done by October 2007.

The historic racetrack will be building their permanent slot machine facility across the street from their current location. The new facility will hold 700 slot machines in a 30,000 square feet building. They are planning a temporary slot machine casino that will host 225 slot machines until the permanent one is completed. They are currently waiting to see if the New Orleans City Planning Commission approves this request.

They are planning the beginning of construction to start right after the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

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