CHARENTON — Cypress Bayou Casino • Hotel proudly showed off phase one of its two-part renovation project on Thursday.

The St. Mary Parish-based gaming and entertainment venue, owned and operated by the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, hosted a luncheon for more than 100 members of the media Thursday. The intention was to showcase all the new and improved amenities that include new restaurants and an upgraded gaming floor that took nearly two years to complete. The total amount of both phases will cost an estimated $20 million. 

“We had a very dated casino and when you see a lot of nice new casinos going up like the Golden Nuggett and L’auberge in Lake Charles, then you realize you have lot of different competition out there,” said Cypress Bayou Interim General Manager Jack Darden. “So we felt that we needed to update our facility. We need to give our visitors a more modern enivornment and we worked hard with this beautiful renovation project.”

“These updates that have been completed were very much needed and it allows us to remain competitive in our market,” said Cypress Bayou Advertising and Public Relations Manager Richard A. Picard III. “This could also allow us to attract new gamers and with our restaurants we can now attract foodies to our resort. We believe that we will be able to attract a larger audience than we had before.”

Cypress Bayou has come a long way since it open its doors in 1988 as a 30,000-square-foot bingo hall named Bayouland Bingo. Four years later, Hurricane Andrew damaged the facility but late the following year the facility reopened but had added Class 3 gaming (slot machines) making it the first land-based casino in the state of Louisiana.

Cypress Bayou, which features 1,000 slot machines, 36 table games and four poker rooms, has continued to expand over the years with an 85,000-square-foot expansion in 1995, then three years later added its cigar room, bus lobby and 2,000-seat entertainment pavilion, and later built its 102-room hotel on site in 2012.

This most recent renovation project was needed, according to Darden, to give the facility more of a modern casino resort feel and less of that “older Vegas style,” which was popular at land-based casinos along the Gulf Coast in the 1990s.

All of the five restaurants on site received some upgrades, with minor touches being done to visitor favorites like Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse (which had all of its seating reupholstered), Loco Mexican Grill & Catina (which now has a more airy front entrance) and Fresh (which now features a new menu with a focus on sub style sandwiches and house-made pastries).

Mabel’s Kitchen meanwhile is one of two new restaurants and continues the tradition of naming eateries inside the casino after tribal members. Mabel’s is named after former longtime Chitimacha School cook Mabel Darden Vilcan, and is a quick-bite dining option that offers everything from hamburgers to salads to fried chicken.

“It was designed to be quick service restaurant,” Picard said. “Mabel’s is a great place to grab a quick bite to beat and then get back on floor to play your favorite games. It is very airy and bright. It is much different than anything else on the property.”

There is also Cafe Delphine, named after tribal member and medicine woman Delphine Darden Stouff, which is where the former Cafe’ Bayou once stood. Delphine offers everything from gumbo to steak and seafood and still offers many of the favorite dishes from Bayou. 

“Our cafe was old and dated,” Darden said. “We needed to give our customers something fresh and more open. Not so closed off from everything.”

In addition to the eateries and relocation of Bizzute’s Gift Shop, the casino has made the gaming floor more wide open, by removing slot machines and some old cash booths, and added a new high limit gaming area. The decor on the inside has been updated with illuminated scenes of cypress trees near the ceiling, a large walking path for those 21-and-under to use while walking through the gaming floor is in place, and a new state-of-the-art sound system has been installed as well.

The second phase of the renovation will include a new pool for the hotel, a lazy river and expanding the hotel. No date has been set as of now for when construction will begin on the second phase.

With all the upgrades over the past two years now being completed, Picard feels that Cypress Bayou is even better than it has been in the past. 

“We have been in Acadiana for a long time,” Picard said. “The renovations are complete and we have the hottest slots here, we have great food and concerts and entertainment. This is an inviting gaming atmosphere that is exciting fresh and new.”