The first gambling boat to open its doors in Missouri back in 1994 is officially closed -- a week before its owner was to shutdown the casino anyway.
The flooded Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis forced the President Casino to halt business a week ago. Yesterday the casino announced that it didn't see the flood waters receding before next week, meaning it's closed forever.
The President is owned by Pinnacle Entertainment, which also operates the nearby Lumiere Place casino. Earlier this year the Missouri Gaming Commission voted to strip the President of its casino license effective in July.
It remains to be seen what will become of the 103-year-old Admiral riverboat in which the President is housed. The old steamboat was retrofitted with a sleek stainless steel shell back in the 1930s, and remains a proud -- if not nostalgic -- icon of St. Louis. According to today's Post-Dispatch, the boat's hull needs millions of dollars worth of repairs that could make salvaging the boat difficult.
So, speaking of casinos and gambling, waddya bet that City Museum's Bob Cassilly emerges with some kind of plan for the boat? I'd say the odds are good.
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