A novel idea for the Shreveport casino market -- a theme. Hollywood operates in theme park mode, much the way larger casinos in Las Vegas do. It tries to evoke the bygone era of Los Angeles when movie stars acted like movie stars and all the world was their stage. The faux art deco architecture complements the experience with artifacts from Hollywood's golden era. Most impressive is the multi-story atrium with soaring escalators that move people from the hotel complex onto the actual casino boat. Look up and admire the medallion at the center of the ceiling -- it's 87 feet across. The entire casino is really well done and unless you're looking for it, it's very difficult to tell that you're in a completely different building. Though the property is magnificent, the employees, in our experience, are quite surly.
When we visited in 2002, we were treated poorly by both the casino and the hotel staff. That night we saw a report on local television saying that Hollywood was more than US$400,000,000.00 in the red. Perhaps they could make some of that up by being nicer to their guests.
4 December, 2002: KTAL television reports part of the hotel's facade has to be replaced because of extensive water damage more than a year old.
26 August, 2002: KTAL television reports that a man is found dead in his hotel room at the Hollywood Casino. Police treat the death as, “suspicious.”
