GRIFFIN EXPANDS ROLE IN METROPOLIS CASINO

PLANS FINALIZED FOR RIVERBOAT CASINO: An artist's concept of the Players Riverboat Casino, which will start operations at Metropolis, Ill. in March of 1993, is shown here. The 1,200-passenger riverboat, which will have a crew of 200, will house three decks of casinos featuring about 650 slot machines and 35 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, big six and live poker.

METROPOLIS, Ill. Entertainer Merv Griffin, an investor in Players International Inc., will visit Metropolis when Players Riverboat Casino starts operations in early 1993.

"Griffin will assist our company in various promotional activities for the casino," said David Fishman, vice president of Players International and president of Players Riverboat Casino.

Fishman announced the expansion of Players International's relationship with Griffin at a news conference Wednesday in Massac County Courthouse.

"Griffin will help obtain promotional talent from a wide range of entertainment celebrities," said Fishman.

The riverboat casino will operate out of Merv Griffin's Riverboat Landing, a 100-by-600-foot harbor site that includes a permanently moored structure housing the "Celebrity Buffet" and "Merv's Bar & Grill," plus a banquet and meeting facilities.

"Players Riverboat Casino and Merv Griffin's Riverboat Landing will be the biggest and best entertainment complex for miles around," said Griffin during a satellite television hookup Wednesday. "It will offer the excitement of Hollywood and Las Vegas together with the best of Southern Illinois. I'm very proud to have my name associated with this venture."

Griffin, a longtime big-band singer, talk-show host, movie actor, game-show producer, hotel owner and gaming executive, also is involved in businesses that include buying and selling radio stations and real estate.

The Merv Griffin Riverboat Landing is off the Ohio River near Paducah, Ky.

Attached to the dining facility at the landing will be a 10,000-square-foot boat unit the barge that formerly housed the Belle Angeline Restaurant of St. Louis. It will serve as a dock site and be used as a ticketing center, gift shop, VIP lounge and outdoor gazebo for the Players Riverboat Casino.

Also included in the landing's facilities are more than 1,100 automobile and bus parking spaces.

"Merv's restaurant is scheduled for opening in mid-January," said Fishman. "Griffin is hoping to be here for the opening of the restaurant. He will also be here for the grand-opening activities scheduled for mid-March.

Fishman said the riverboat casino should be in place by late-February. "The riverboat is under construction in Jennings, La.," said Fishman.

The 1,200-passenger riverboat, which will have a crew of 200, will house three decks of casinos featuring about 650 slot machines and 35 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, Big Six and live poker. In addition each deck will have a video poker pub, Fishman said.

The casino is expected to mean big business for this community of 4,000 people.

Players officials anticipate that the floating casino will attract as many as a million visitors per year, with four to six three-hour cruises each day. "We'll have access to eight million or more people who live within a 200-mile radius of Metropolis," said Fishman.

The $18.5 million riverfront and casino project will bring more than 600 new jobs to the area, with a total payroll of more than $12 million.

Admission will be charged to board the boat, in addition to costs of gambling. Fishman said the state receives 20 percent of the gaming revenue and the city receives 25 percent of the state's 20 percent. In other words, the city receives 5 percent of the total gaming revenue, he explained.

Additionally, it will mean increased revenues to the community and surrounding areas from purchases of food, lodging, fuel, auto rentals, property improvements and construction of hotels and hospitality services.

"Five new business developments have already been launched in the immediate area," said Fishman, in reference to a 62-room Best Inns Motel just off Interstate 24; Fast Eddy's Restaurant and Bar; a local taxi and limousine service; a deli-style restaurant and a storefront flea and collector's market.