Seasonal rains have led to the temporary closure of yet another casino in the U.S. The President Casino in St. Louis is scheduled to reopen later this week, after it closed Saturday morning due to rising flood waters on the Mississippi River, according to the casino's owner and operator Pinnacle Entertainment. Down the river, in Mississippi, casinos were also closed due to the heavy rains.
 

On Sunday evening, the flood reached 31.5 feet above river level. Parts of Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and the President Casino entry Porte Cohere, all in downtown St. Louis, near the Mississippi River, begin to flood at 31 feet.
 
The casino's general manager Chris Strobbe said it's a situation the casino must "deal with each year," though this is the first flooding closure for President Casino in nearly six years. He said patrons will come back.

Sun Palace Casino
Play for Fun or Money, you will
always going to win!!!

 
President Casino notified the Missouri Gaming Commission about the temporary closure over the weekend.  Lumière Place, Pinnacle Entertainment's other casino in downtown St. Louis, was not affected by the rising flood waters and remained open just a few blocks west of the President Casino, Strobbe said.
 
Strobbe said that gamers who were turned away from his casino were directed to the company's newly opened Lumiere Place. He said he expects those patrons to return to President Casino later this week.
 
Rising flood waters on the Mississippi River also caused the temporary closure of Isle of Capri Casinos Inc.'s Natchez, Miss., casino this weekend.
 
St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos (Nasdaq: ISLE) owns and operates riverboat, dockside and land-based casinos at 18 locations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri and overseas.
 
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: PNK) is a Las Vegas-based company that owns and operates casinos in Missouri, Nevada, Louisiana, and Indiana.


© Copyright 2008 Gambling Central's material. It may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.