[Jimmy The Fish]

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I saw in this latest issue of Card Player that Pinnicle has bought the President and Casino Queen was building a new casino on land. Anyone know if Pinnicle has any plans to rebuild a new casino there? Also is there a chance that the Queen will put in a card room?

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Pinnacle is planning a large casino/hotel complex in downtown STL. It will replace the President. From what I've read, it will be significantly larger than the Prez, although not quite in the Aharrahstar range.

The Queen has announced plans for a boat-in-a-moat to replace their current facility, but they've yet to break ground. I'm pretty sure that Illinois law limits the number of "gaming positions" that any casino can have, which is the reason why poker rooms in the state are so scarce -- each seat in a poker room comes at the expense of a slot machine. The Queen doesn't have to deal with Missouri's loss limits, which would help in arranging deep-stack games; but 99% of area gamblers aren't affected by the $500 limit, so it's a small advantage at best.

I think that the Queen will do whatever Pinnacle doesn't. If Pinnacle builds a poker room into their new boat, the Queen won't bother; but if Pinnacle doesn't, the Queen will. The Queen's survival will depend on exploiting market niches that Pinnacle leaves open.