President Casinos was a gaming company and casino operator based in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

that was active in the 1990s. In the 2000s it went into bankruptcy and had liquidating by the end of the decade.

History

The company was founded in 1991 by Pittsburgh millionaire John E. Connelly, who owned the

Gateway Clipper Fleet The Gateway Clipper Fleet, founded by John E. Connelly, is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based fleet of riverboats. The fleet cruises the three rivers of Pittsburgh - the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio. The fleet is named after the city of Pit ...

and . Its riverboat casino ''The President'' in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, which opened in April 1991, was one of the first modern riverboat casinos in the Midwest and South after they started becoming legal. It began trading on NASDAQ in 1992. On June 20, 2002, President Casinos filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. On April 15, 2005, the

President Casino Broadwater Resort The President Casino Broadwater Resort was a combined casino and resort that was located in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was a fixture on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for over 60 years. Originally known as the Broadwater Beach Hotel and Broadwate ...

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

was sold to

Broadwater Development Broadwater Development is a casino holding company that is privately owned by Roy Anderson III, owner of Roy Anderson Corporation construction company, W.C. "Cotton" Fore, president of Gulfport-based W.C. Fore Trucking Inc., and Miami-based Dezer ...

. On February 24, 2006,

Pinnacle Entertainment Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was an American gambling and hospitality company. It was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2018. At the time of acquisition, it operated sixteen casino properties, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missi ...

announced that it would purchase the

President Casino Laclede's Landing President Casino Laclede's Landing was a stationary riverboat casino in Saint Louis, Missouri owned by Pinnacle Entertainment. History The President Casino opened in 1994 on the SS ''Admiral'' shortly after Missouri legalized riverboat casinos ...

for $31.5 million. On December 21, 2006, Pinnacle Entertainment completed the purchase of the casino. It has sold all of its operations since declaring bankruptcy and as of February 2009 is making its final distribution of assets.

Casinos and other operations

The company lost several million dollars in unsuccessful attempts get gambling franchises in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, New Orleans and the Catskill Mountains. Its only operating casinos were: * The President,

opened 1991 in (later acquired by

Isle of Capri Casinos Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. was a gaming company headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri in Greater St. Louis which operated casinos and associated entertainment and lodging facilities in the United States. It operated 15 casinos in seven states ...

subsequently retired. Associated with the casino was the landmark Blackhawk Hotel in downtown Davenport. *

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

opened 1992 (acquired by Broadwater Development LLC in 2005 and destroyed shortly thereafter by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

) *President Casino Tunica Southern Mist,

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Uni ...

, opened 1993 and closed 1994 with the Southern Mist riverboat being moved to Biloxi. *

, opened 1993 aboard the . Sold in bankruptcy in 2006 to

References

{{reflist

External links

President Casinos
Companies based in St. Louis Gambling companies of the United States American companies established in 1991