Commission - Casino revenue rises 11 percent in January

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's 11 casinos last month took in $107.9 million in adjusted gross receipts, up 11 percent from the same month last year, according to state figures.

Around St. Louis, the newly expanded Ameristar Casino in St. Charles led the way with $21.2 million in adjusted gross receipts, or total bets minus total payouts, the Missouri Gaming Commission reported Monday.

That's a 75.2 percent jump over January 2002.

Casino Aztar in the Missouri Bootheel edged up 1.1 percent, to $1.8 million.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s casino in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights had revenue of $19.1 million, off 10.7 percent from the previous year.

The President Casino on the Admiral, on St. Louis' riverfront, reported $6.17 million in adjusted gross revenues in January, down 9 percent from a year earlier. That casino and its parent President Casinos Inc. have been under bankruptcy protection since June.

On the Illinois side of the St. Louis area, the Casino Queen in East St. Louis took in $12.1 million in adjusted gross receipts last month, down 6.2 percent from January 2002. Low water levels on the Mississippi forced the casino last month to close for two full days and part of a third.

Also in Illinois, Argosy Gaming Co.'s Alton Belle took in $9.27 million in adjusted gross receipts, off 5.2 percent from a year earlier. The casino draws many of its customers from the same geographic territory as Ameristar and Harrah's.

The gaming commission is taking proposals for another St. Louis-area casino, with an eye toward the region's relatively untapped southern portion.