Posted on our website on the 10th of each month…www.mgc.dps.mo.gov
Tim Bryant (has replaced Tim Logan on the gambling beat) of the St.Louis Post Dispatch writes the story. Read it here.
August 24th at 9 a.m. in Jefferson City
From the Associated Press
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Flooding along the Missouri River has caused millions of dollars of damage to the St. Jo Frontier Casino, which may be closed until October while it is essentially rebuilt, casino officials said.
Since the casino closed in late June, workers have stripped casino walls down to the studs and are repairing nearly every part of the facility. The parking lot was flooded, the casino's floor buckled and significant damage occurred to the casino's gift shop, restaurant and entrance walkway.
"We are expecting that we will get up to, or close to, our $11 million total aggregate (insurance) coverage," said Craig Travers, the casino's general manager.
Some of the nearly 300 casino employees are being paid to help with demolition, construction and repair. Workers drained water out of the casino twice in the last month, The St. Joseph News-Press reported Thursday.
If the river continues to recede, the casino could reopen by Oct. 1, Travers said.
"Until we can get here with building supplies and materials, we are going to reach a point where there's nothing more we can do in the building," Travers said, "All the vertical walls have to be stripped. Dining room furniture will be replaced and we will have a grand reopening whichever month we are able to reopen."
He estimated the casino is losing $40,000 a day while it's closed and noted that is hurting surrounding businesses that depend on casino visitors.
"I'm sure the community is just as aggravated as we are, that not only was something taken away, but there is going to be a considerable amount of (tax) revenue lost as a part of this, to the city, the county and the state," he said.
"If the water came and went, and we could get it done and get it open, it would not be that big of a deal," Travers said. "We are still at the mercy of the river."
Interesting story from Nebraska TV.com about how the WinnaVegas casino in Iowa is using amphibious vehicles to ferry passengers over floodwaters to their casino. Read it here.
The Missouri Gaming Commission meets this Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Jefferson City. The agenda can be seen on the Google Calendar on the right side of this page.
The Quincy Herald Whig published a story about the tenth anniversary of the casino. Read the story here. Be sure to check out the related articles under the photos.
From the St.Louis Post Dispatch. Read the story here.
By Gene Meyer of the Kansas Reporter.org
July 13, 2011
TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas lottery and gaming revenues, of which the state's share rose 5 percent to $103.8 million in 2011, likely will go through some major changes in the next 12 months, the new Kansas Lottery Commission executive director said Wednesday.
Lottery Commission executives currently project that the state's share of gambling revenues a year from now will be in the same ballpark as now, but that the sources of the funds will change significantly, newly appointed executive director Dennis Wilson told Lottery commissioners at their July meeting.
New revenues from the state's Hollywood casino in Kansas City, expected to open in February, and the new Kansas Star casino opening soon after that near Mulvane are projected to replace a one-time $25 million payment that Kansas Star developers made in 2011 to bid for a state casino license.
"The job of this commission and the lottery will be changing when all those casinos come on line," Wilson said.
Ray Scherer of the St.Jo News- Press reports on the status of Terrible's St.Jo Frontier casino. Read the story here.
Posted: Thursday, July 7, 2011 12:00 am
Special to The American St. Louis American
Cheryl Bonner has joined the Missouri Gaming Commission as the MBE/WBE Compliance Manager. She will monitor the casino’s workforce diversity and their annual spend with MBE and WBE firms. Prior to joining the MGC, Bonner worked at the Missouri Department of Transportation for 10 years. Her last three at MoDOT were spent as a Senior Procurement Agent, in which Bonner conducted MBE/WBE vendor outreach.
