Casino, truck stop projects move forward

Construction projects are moving forward at Lakeside Casino and Pilot Flying J Truck Stop.
Casino Manager Bob Thursby said the casino is waiting on a permit from the City of Osceola to redesign the 150-foot cowboy sign by I-35. Thursby said all of the cowboy logos are being removed from the property because they belong to the Herbst family, the former owners of the casino. Removing the logo will also include the redesign of the cowboy sign so it no longer looks like a cowboy.

Once a permit is approved, a redesign timeline will be made available, Thursby said.
Although details of the redesign were not available at press time, he said the redesign will include making the sign approximately 15 feet shorter. Thursby said he anticipates having pictures of the proposed redesign soon.

Hotel expansion

The 90-room casino hotel expansion project remains on schedule. Thursby said he has received some questions about what is being excavated in the area next to the casino’s campground.

He said contractors needed to use some of the dirt from that area to ensure the correct compactability was achieved under the hotel’s foundation. Thursby said much of the foundation has been laid. Contractors have been constructing stairwells and the elevator shaft.

Officials with Larson and Larson said they anticipate framing will begin Oct. 10. Thursby told representatives from Clarke County Development Corporation he hopes to have a model room completed in October for them to view.
Truck stop
Officials with Pilot Flying J took over the C-Store Sunday at midnight after signing a lease with the casino. Thursby said Pilot officials plan to close the store and gas pumps for approximately 100 days while the truck stop is under construction.

S-T Photo by Jennifer Nelson
Pictured is the lower floor of the casino's 90-room expansion project. The lower floor will include a 1,092 square foot corporate suite which will have a sleeping area, kitchen, three bathrooms and a living room. The gray concrete block in the back of the photo is a stairwell.