Missouri Gaming Commission News and Information

The St.Louis Post Dispatch editorial board publishes a cartoon and editorial. See it and read it here.

From Deneen Busby of the St.Louis Globe Democrat-

The rising Mississippi River is forcing the temporary closure of the President Casino on the St. Louis riverfront.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. officials said the temporary closure is
necessary due to rising flood waters. The casino will be closed Sunday
and will open back up once the floodwaters recede. Company officials
said at that time, workers will remove river debris from the streets,
parking lots, porte cochere and access ramps to the boat.

The Mississippi River is expected to crest several feet above flood
stage. “We’ve been monitoring the Mississippi River levels daily, which
reached 32 feet sometime Saturday,” said Chris Strobbe, President
Casino General Manager. “We felt it was best for the safety of our
guests and our employees to temporarily suspend our operations until
the flood waters recede.”

The Missouri Gaming Commission will regulate charitable and commercial gaming in a manner which promotes a positive impact on the State and ensures the integrity of the industry.

MGC Issues Notice of Interest

Jefferson City, Missouri- Missouri Gaming Commission Executive Director
Gene McNary has notified Commissioners of staff intent to solicit interest in
Missouri’s 13^th riverboat gaming casino license.

McNary says “the Commission is taking the first step in identifying a
process for awarding a casino license in the State. Interested jurisdictions
and casino companies should notify the Commission before May 1^st,
2010.  The MGC is not taking applications
at this point, but instead wishes to hear from entities interested in the
license, and willing to provide a brief statement on their objectives.”

The Missouri Gaming Commission intends to review the received materials
and then discuss the next steps in the process. For more information contact
the Missouri Gaming Commission at 573-526-4080.

You can see the agenda on the Google Calendar on the right side of this page. Just click on the date.

In FY 2009 Missouri riverboat casinos:

Employed 10,961 people

Paid wages of 346.8 million
dollars

Earned 1.7 billion dollars in
gross gaming revenue

Contributed 352 million dollars
in direct gaming taxes to state and local home dock governments.

Contributed 104.7 million dollars
in total admission fees (2 dollars per 2 hour excursion) to special state funds
and home dock governments.

Paid total real estate and sales
taxes of 54.9 million, for a combined total of gaming and other taxes of 511.6
million dollars.

Invested a total of 2.9 billion
in capital investments since 1998.

Few people know the editorial staff of showmegaming.com has a rich heritage in the FM rock radio broadcasting industry. It's hard to get away from this. The editorial staff has taken heat from those who don't like the black background of this blog. We have been mocked, made fun of, and abused to the point of total embarrassment. Protesters say this is a gaming blog, and not a web page for Power 98. So we succumb to the pressure…

The meeting of the Missouri Gaming Commission is March 24th in Jefferson City. 9 a.m.

Tim Logan of the St.Louis Post Dispatch covers the gaming industry in the State. He writes in Sunday's paper about what could happen next.

Interesting story in the St.Louis Post Dispatch about the President. Read it here.