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Pinnacle Entertainment unveiled their new St. Louis based casino. At 10 am Monday morning the River City Casino was officially revealed to a group of 400 local officials and business partners following a ceremony in which the Missouri Gaming Commission Executive Director Gene McNary presented the company with their license.
Lucky attendees got to view the casino's bright warm atmosphere first hand. With a 90,000-square-foot gambling floor, 2,100 slot machines and dozens of gaming tables no one would call the site particularly cozy but its rich red carpets and 1904 World's Fair-themed décor can't help but leave one feeling oddly at ease.
According to Pinnacle's St. Louis regional vice president, Todd George, the site is going to be aimed more at locals then it is at tourists. They want to draw in regulars with their fun games and reasonably priced restaurants rather than being forced to rely almost exclusively on tourism. As it stands the site doesn't even have an onsite hotel though that may change in the coming years.
Some debate has been brought up as to whether or not St. Louis is big enough for seven casinos. Some industry-watchers are warning that the new site may result in "cannibalization" but George does not seem too concerned about that. He believes that it will just help to make St. Louis more of a destination for gamblers from around the Midwest and could add more to the local economy.
"Our goal is to grow the market," he said. "It's always easier to do that than to try and steal other people's customers... This product is going to bring people here."
McNary, of the Gaming Commission, has noted that the massive growth of the Lumière Place Casino in downtown has grown faster than predicted due in large part to the growing strength of tourism in the area.
"If we attract people with quality properties, (St. Louis) could become a destination city for gaming," George went on to say.
So far, market saturation hasn't been very much of a worry for casino operators. Missouri was actually one of the few states to see gambling revenue increase in the last year despite the recent recession. That of course doesn't mean the site isn't taking into account the strained pocket books of many of their customers.
In order to make the site more accessible to everyone they will be providing visitors with a number of cheaper options. The restaurants are set to be quite a bit less expensive than originally planned and more of the slots on site are now penny slots.
That doesn't mean that they aren't going to keep the site luxurious though. There is still a shiny marble floor in the Grand Court and $25,000 custom-made chandeliers over the craps tables. If the opening ceremony was any indication they aren't afraid to put money into their promotions either. If you happen to be in the St. Louis area you'll certainly want to check it out.
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