METROPOLIS CASINO CLOSED OVER WEEKEND

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Players Island Casino is open again and operating on its regular schedule.

The riverboat casino on the Ohio River was temporarily closed for about 36 hours over the weekend, including its busiest day of the week, Saturday.

The casino, which averages as many as 6,000 visitors a day, was first closed Friday afternoon about 5 p.m. when fumes from a liquid insulator being installed to the air-conditioning unit entered the casino through the vessel's intake valves.

A number of employees and a few visitors were admitted to Massac County Hospital at Metropolis for observation.

The air conditioning was shut down, and fans were used to circulate fresh air into the casino.

The casino was closed more than two hours before it was determined that the environment was comfortable and safe.

Testing continued every two hours. The casino was closed a second time at 1:30 a.m. Saturday following new complaints of headaches and dizziness.

It remained closed until 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Our primary concern throughout this incident was safety," said Mike Crider, Players Island Casino general manager.

"Players Island Casino worked hand-in-hand with the Coast Guard to ensure that the casino environment was comfortable and safe before reopening," said Crider.

Casino officials notified a number of tour-bus companies of the Saturday closing. Large numbers of buses visit the casino each weekend.

"A few buses did show," said Christina Felts, public relations manager for the casino. "We worked with them to find other activities."

The casino was crowded to near capacity of 1,600 after it opened Sunday afternoon.

A larger-than-usual crowd was on hand, many of them to attend the Oak Ridge Boys outdoor concert Sunday evening.

The financial impact of the closing has not yet been determined, said Felts. "The closing was viewed more as an inconvenience to the customers than a financial loss to the company," she said.

The weekend closing was only the second closing in the seven-year history of the casino. The casino riverboat closed in March 1997 because of flooding. "We were closed about 48 hours," said Crider.