(For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

LAKE CHARLES, LA-In the wake of its license and land swap with Harrah's Entertainment Inc. earlier this month, Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. is ready to proceed on Sugarcane Bay, a $350-million, 400-room development. Early estimates are the gaming giant will begin work next year, with an eye on a 2009 opening.

Sugarcane Bay will be on the site that currently contains Harrah's 263-room Lake Charles Hotel at 505 N. Lakeshore Dr, adjacent to Pinnacle's L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino. Part of the construction will involve a tear-down of the Lake Charles Hotel, which was damaged in the wake of last year's hurricanes. The design plan is still on the drawing board.

L'Auberge, which opened May 2005, is doing quite well, according to a Pinnacle spokeswoman. "We're close to gaming capacity there," she says, "and we've been very pleased with the response." As a result, the owner is adding 1,000 rooms. Work begins in August.