Pinnacle to open Lemay casino in early March
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
December 14, 2009
By Tim Logan
The St. Louis region's seventh casino is now set to open in early March.
Pinnacle Entertainment said this morning that it plans to open its new River City Casino in Lemay some time in early March. While they didn't set an exact date, that is more specific, and sooner, than the general "Spring 2010"" guidance Pinnacle had been offering to date.
Construction on the 90,000 square-foot facility on the Mississippi just south of the River Des Peres has been in full swing since August, 2008. While Pinnacle and other gaming companies have had to stall other casino projects around the country in the last year due to the weak lending markets and economy, the $375 million River City continued ahead because its financing had already been arranged before last fall's credit market collapse.
River City is also the last casino in the door under Missouri's new capped license system. Last November, voters approved a measure that limited the state to 13 casino licenses - the 12 already operating and River City, which at that point had already received preliminary approval from the Missouri Gaming Commission. It will need a final OK before it can open for business, but the license is not in question.
It will be the second major casino in the area to be built by Pinnacle in recent years. The Las Vegas-based company opened Lumiere Place downtown in Dec. 2007. While that glitzy, half-billion dollar facility has been successful, Pinnacle says, the company expects River City to be more profitable, and built Lumiere in part so it could get the second license in south St. Louis County.
Opening River City ahead of schedule is a significant accomplishment, said Pinnacle's interim chief executive officer, John Giovenco.
"River City will bring a new level of entertainment to south St. Louis County and will now be welcoming guests and generating tax revenues sooner than originally anticipated," he said. "Along with Lumiere Place, its sister property in downtown St. Louis, River City represents a major investment in the future of the St. Louis area."
Earlier this month, Pinnacle launched a hiring blitz for the new casino. It has received more than 4,000 applications for roughly 1,000 jobs.
