STRICTLY BUSINESS: LOUISIANA AND ILLINOIS APPROVE EXCHANGE OF FLOATING CASINOS

The gaming industry in Missouri and Illinois is on the move -- in some cases, litrally.

The President IV riverboat caught some attention when it passed through Cape Girardeau recently, en route to St. Louis via the Mississippi River.

When the giant riverboat casino passes by Cape Girardeau the next time, it will be under a new banner, Players Casino, and will be headed for Lake Charles, La., where it will replace one of two Players International riverboat casinos operating there.

The President IV, previously owned by President Casinos Inc., which also owns the Admiral Casino, docked on the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis, has been purchased by Players. It is being refurbished in St. Louis.

The Louisiana State Riverboat Gaming Commission recently approved Players' petition to swap the larger President IV with Players II at Lake Charles.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Gaming Position came into play when it approved the swap of Players II with the Players Casino Riverboat at Metropolis.

The former President IV is 13,000 square feet larger than Players II, and will give Players 28,000 square feet of gambling space.

Meanwhile, the Players II is much larger than Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis.

The current Metropolis riverboat has a capacity of 1,300 passengers and about 750 gambling positions. The new Players II has a capacity of 1,625 passengers and almost 1,000 gambling positions.

The current 2-year-old riverboat casino has been hard-pressed to meet demands in recent months. The July reports from the Illinois Gaming Commission show more than 210,000 people board the casino at Metropolis, an average of almost 7,000 people a day.

Officials say a number of people are being turned away on weekends.

During the recent Labor Day weekend, many potential passengers were disappointed. More than 24,000 passengers board the boat over Saturday and Sunday.

"That's almost capacity for the weekend," said Kim Lang, of Players' public affairs department. "On some cruises a number of people were turned away."

The new riverboat will provide four decks of gambling, compared to the current, three-deck boat. The new boat could be in place in November, said Pat Rogers, vice president and general manager of the Metropolis operation.

Players International, with riverboat gambling facilities at Metropolis and Lake Charles, is now looking at Maryland Heights in the St. Louis area, where Players is teaming up with Harrah's for a four-boat, gambling, hotel and entertainment complex.

Players has made offers to buy one or both of two failed River City Riverboat Casinos that operated in New Orleans. The Louisiana Commission will rule on that proposal soon.

2,000 a day at Caruthersville

Casino Aztar is seeking more space at its Caruthersville riverboat casino.

The Missouri Gaming Commission will take up an Aztar request for dockside gambling and more gambling positions when it meets this week.

Aztar's riverboat casino, "The City of Caruthersville," has a capacity of just over 500 passengers, and during peak times, has had to turn back visitors.

More than 4,000 passengers boarded the boat each of the first three Saturdays of August, with 4,909 Aug. 5.

Aztar is petitioning the commission for permission to add gambling positions on its landing barge, and allow the riverboat to remain dockside.

"The City of Caruthersville" currently has dockside operations at night, but cruises through the day.

Aztar, located on the Mississippi River in downtown Caruthersville, had a total of 67,000 visitors in August, for an average of almost 2,000 a day, ranging from a low of 1,100 on a Monday to the high of 4,909.

Sam's Town at Kansas City

Boyd Gaming Corp., which has proposed a $51.1 million project for downtown Cape Girardeau, will also appear before the Missouri Gaming Commission this week, for a suitability hearing on its Sam's Town project at Kansas City.

The Sam's Town, $116 million complex could open as early as Wednesday. The suitability hearing and "shakedown" cruise will be conducted Tuesday and Wednesday.

It is hoped that with the opening of Boyd's Kansas City project, the Cape Girardeau project will receive some attention.

The Cape Girardeau project includes a $24.7 million riverboat and $26.4 million for a land-based facility that will include a parking garage, restaurant and retail space.

Slot club points for cash

An Illinois gambling casino has adopted a practice that has gained favor with patrons in a Tunica, Miss., casino.

The Casino Queen at East St. Louis is the first in Illinois to let players redeem their slot club points for cash.

Typically, club members earn points every time they insert a plastic identification card into a slot machine and play -- win or lose. But, only in a few cases are points convertible into cash.

Most casinos have slot clubs and patrons use points earned for prizes -- items in the casino's gift shops, trips to Las Vegas and other incentives.

Gambling casinos offer that and more to members of their slot clubs, designed to reward the most active players with convertible bonus points on top of any jackpots they win.

In the case of the Casino Queen, which spent more than $5 million on its 250,000-member club during the past year, club points are awarded only when the gambler wins -- one point for every $1 payout.

Hollywood Casino of Tunica County adopted the points-for-cash plan shortly after opening.

Other riverboat casino notes

President Casino Inc., has petitioned the Missouri Gaming Commission for permission to move the Admiral gambling riverboat a few blocks north of its current location on the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis. The move, say officials, will provide better parking and easier access for customers.

Missouri riverboats admitted more than 3.4 million visitors to the state's seven boats in August. Harrah's North Start at Kansas City topped the list, with more than 929,000. Second on the list was the Admiral, with 713,000. St. Charles Casinos had a total of 913 million, but that was split between St. Charles Casino I (442,000) and St. Charles Casino II (485.000). Others in order, were the Argosy, 570,000; St. Joseph, 156,000; Aztar, 136,000.

B. Ray Owen is business editor and staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.