Pinnacle breaks ground on casino in St. Louis

Jim Salter

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

ST. LOUIS -- The mood at Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. is hardly festive given damage to its Gulf Coast casinos. Still, Pinnacle broke ground Wednesday for a new $400 million gambling complex in downtown St. Louis.

The site just north of the Gateway Arch is at the Laclede's Landing entertainment district. The project calls for a 90,000-square-foot casino, restaurants and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. The company has also paid $38 million to purchase the adjacent Embassy Suites Hotel from FelCor Lodging Trust. A pedestrian walkway will connect the hotel to the casino.

Pinnacle said the gambling center will create 700 construction jobs and 1,300 permanent jobs.

Pinnacle chairman and chief executive officer Dan Lee said the ceremony was scheduled long before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Damage to Pinnacle's casinos in New Orleans and Biloxi, Miss., was estimated at more than $100 million, but insurance is expected to cover most of the loss, the company said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are focused on the victims of the hurricane, including our own employees and their families," Lee said. "Nevertheless, our plans for downtown St. Louis are ready, our contractor is chosen and it is time to begin building the foundations."

The downtown project is one of two in the St. Louis area planned by Pinnacle. The company has also been given the go-ahead to build a casino in south St. Louis County.

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle said last week it would spend $400 million on the city casino and $375 million on the one in the county, scheduled to open by 2008.

The only other gambling boat in the city of St. Louis is the President, also at Laclede's Landing, which has struggled financially.

Other St. Louis-area casinos include Harrah's Maryland Heights in northwest St. Louis County, Ameristar St. Charles in St. Charles, and two casinos on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River -- the Casino Queen in East St. Louis and the Argosy Alton Belle in Alton.