Rumors of the Amelia Belle riverboat casino’s bankruptcy are greatly exaggerated.

Bruce Woods, general manager for the local boat moored on Bayou Boeuf in the extreme eastern reaches of St. Mary Parish, said this morning that the business of the local vessel is not a part of the casino group involved in bankruptcy filings currently under way.

Privately held Casino operator Tropicana Entertainment LLC is seeking bankruptcy protection, he confirmed, but it "will not have an impact on our vendors, players or employees," Woods said.

"Columbia Sussex is still our parent company" and there is a relationship between it and Tropicana, but the two are not together involved in the bankruptcy filing, he said.

Tropicana Entertainment said in a regulatory filing last week that it had received a default notice from Credit Suisse Group, the agent for its lenders on a $1.3 billion credit agreement.

The company said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its existing forbearance agreement with lenders was dependent on a payment of a fee of up to $3 million to lenders by the end of business Monday.

Tropicana Entertainment, an indirect subsidiary of Tropicana Casinos and Resorts, owns the famed Tropicana casino in Las Vegas.

The company was created by hotel and casino investor Columbia Sussex Corp when it bought rival Aztar Corp for $1.9 billion in 2006.

Woods said this morning that he has spoken personally with St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin and St. Mary Councilman Chuck Walters of Amelia to explain the current situation. He said he was able to set aside concerns both had about the bankruptcy status.

In somewhat related news, Woods said the proposed move to swap the vessel in Amelia with the riverboat currently operated as the Belle of Baton Rouge was still under consideration.

"The swap is still under consideration but it if happens, it will be later this year," he said.

"We want to get through this thing (impact of sister company filing bankruptcy) and there is a definite timetable for that. And we expect the parent company to come out even stronger."