GROUND IS BROKEN FOR HOTEL AT METROPOLIS

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Merv Griffin and Ava Gabor joined Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar Saturday to break ground for a 120-room Players Riverfront Hotel & Casino here.

The hotel will be developed by Amerihost Properties Inc., adjacent to the Players Riverboat Casino Landing in Metropolis. Plans for a 400-to-500-seat theater at the location were also announced.

Officials praised the development as an economic boon to Metropolis and the surrounding areas.

The hotel will include over 51,000 square feet on 4.4 acres, which are now mostly gravel lots.

Plans call for an "L-shaped" brick hotel featuring indoor swimming pool and recreation area. The hotel will offer eight suites with whirlpool baths, a meeting room and a breakfast room. It should be complete in six months.

"We expect the hotel to generate revenues of over $1.5 million annually, and it will employ 35 full- and part-time people. Amerihost is proud to be part of generating this kind of economic development for Metropolis and we look forward to becoming involved in community activities," said Amerihost president and chief executive officer Michael P. Holtz.

"We were looking for a strong, aggressive community that wants us to be part of their development," Holtz said.

Ed Fishman with Players International announced plans for Merv's Theater, a 400-to- 500-seat facility designed to showcase top-name entertainers.

"We feel that with these additions, Metropolis will become more of a destination," Fishman said.

Griffin praised the Illinois governor and legislature for allowing riverboat gambling in the state.

"Look at the new economic growth and the new looks to cities along the rivers, certainly to Metropolis," Griffin said. "It's been pure magic."

Edgar said the Players organization has created jobs for Southern Illinoisans. Much of the tip of Illinois suffers double-digit unemployment.

"The riverboat creates jobs not just on the boats," Edgar said. "There are ripple effects in the community. There is more to this project than just a boat.

"When we have people willing to gamble I'm not sure that's the right word, well, maybe it is right gamble on a community like Metropolis, it helps this community realize it's fullest potential," Edgar said.

Metropolis Mayor Bill Kommer said following the ceremony: "The town is on the move now. This project has served to motivate the people."

Initially, he said, many residents of the small community opposed the gambling operation.

"There are still some against it," Kommer said. "But not as many now as a year and a half or two years ago. People are seeing what the boat can do and the revenues it can generate."

He said the boat has helped create between 600 and 700 new jobs in Massac County and the surrounding area.

It has also generated $1 million in new revenue for city government. Kommer said a plan has been formulated for how the money will be spent most for improvements to city infrastructure and a self-insurance program but little has actually been spent yet.

Dignitaries, including Griffin and Gabor, donned hard hats for a traditional shovel-turning ceremony.

Amerihost manages 53 properties with over 5,800 guest rooms in 11 states, including Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.