L'Auberge Casino Resort

The tallest building in Southwest Louisiana is a casino—which tells you what happened to Lake Charles in the 2000s. Pinnacle Entertainment opened L'Auberge in May 2005, part of the gaming wave that rewired the local economy after petrochemical refining slowed and military homeport plans collapsed. The resort employs over 2,400 people and draws 400,000 visitors a month. The 26-story tower sits at 777 Avenue L'Auberge on the lakefront. Because Louisiana gambling law allows riverboat casinos, the casino floor itself is built on a floating structure on the Calcasieu River—a regulatory architecture made literal. Bergman Walls Associates designed it. Gaming and Leisure Properties owns it; Penn Entertainment operates it after acquiring Pinnacle in October 2018. The resort has nearly 1,000 hotel rooms, a Tom Fazio golf course, swimming pools, a spa, shops, and several restaurants including Kim Son Asia. Gaming tax revenue from the casino funds civic projects across Calcasieu Parish, which makes L'Auberge not just entertainment infrastructure but civic infrastructure—part of how the city pays for what it needs. Open 24/7. Must be 21+ for the casino floor.