Flooding Shows Example Of Why President Casino Will Close In July

For those critics who believed that Pinnacle Entertainment made the wrong decision when they agreed to close their President Casino in St. Louis, Sunday proved as a reminder of why the decision had to be made. The President Casino closed on Sunday due to flooding.

The casino closure is just the latest of many closures over the past couple of years because of flooding. When the St. Louis riverfront floods, the entrance ramp to the President is overcome with water and customers are not able to pass through to the casino.

This frequent occurrence has led to declining revenues for the President Casino. In addition, other new casinos have been built in St. Louis that have taken customers away from the riverboat casino. The declining revenue and overall condition of the riverboat on which the casino is located, has caused the Missouri Gaming Commission to step in.

The Gaming Commission began the process of stripping the President and Pinnacle of their gaming license. Originally, Pinnacle decided to fight for the license. After discussions with the Gaming Board, however, Pinnacle agreed to relinquish the license and close the casino on July 1st.

The license, meanwhile, has become a hot commodity. Thirteen groups have expressed their interest in the license in writing to the Gaming Board. The board hopes to have all proposals in within the next couple of months, at which time they will award the lone available license to the winning bidder.

Pinnacle has expressed that they may go after the vacated license. Pinnacle has the new Lumiere Place and other casinos in the city, and city officials have said they would like to keep the open license in St. Louis. The Gaming Board is taking applications, however, from developers who would like to build a casino in other areas of Missouri.

May 17, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!

Mashantucket Tribe Wants Connecticut Gambling Age Limit Lowered
St. Louis Showing The Benefits Of Casino Gambling Expansion
SugarHouse Casino Closer To Bringing Jobs To Philadelphia
Aqueduct Casino Gambling Bids Open Again In New York
Atlantic City Casino Revenue Stabilizes In April