Before there was Durant and Thackerville, there was Shreveport and Bossier City.
This was before the sprawling Oklahoma complexes of Choctaw and WinStar became Dallas’s gold standard for a gambling getaway. In the nineties and early aughts, Dallasites often made the I-20 trek to Louisiana’s Red River, where casino neon lights reflected off the river they were beholden to. Back then, the drive didn’t feel so long.
Decades later, I’m heading back to these twin cities to visit the first casino built here in more than a decade — Live! Casino Hotel Louisiana, which opened in Bossier City in February 2025.
But I tell you, the road has a way of humbling you.
The Road to Bossier City
Halfway to Bossier City on that dusky stretch of I-20, I heard a violent pop and felt a fear-inducing shimmy of the steering wheel at 80 mph. I couldn’t tell if the thud I heard was my shredded tire slapping the pavement, or my stomach dropping at the realization that I may be stranded on the highway while a sushi dinner and a comfortable bed slipped out of reach…