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Riverboat operator seeks to combine two casinos

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 | 10:33 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The president of Ameristar Missouri says he will ask the Missouri Gaming Commission next week for permission to unite the River King and River Queen riverboat casinos.

Tearing down the wall separating the twin vessels at Ameristar Casino in Kansas City would create a 140,000-square foot gambling floor that would be one of the largest in the nation.

The two-boat casino was built by Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas in 1997, during the days of two-hour restrictions on boarding. Before the Gaming Commission lifted the boarding restriction, Missouri casinos could only allow boarding for 45 minutes every two hours.

A two-boat casino allowed one boat to board during odd hours and the other during even hours. Now, gamblers can come aboard any time.

"We've been studying the one-boat option since open boarding was enacted in 1999," said Ameristar Missouri President John V. Finamore, who announced Friday he would seek to join the vessels. "It will be more open, more convenient and more customer friendly."

Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas agreed last year to purchase the boats from Station.

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