Missouri: New Caruthersville casino under way

December 5, 2022 12:27 PM
Photo: Shutterstock
  • David McKee, CDC Gaming Reports
December 5, 2022 12:27 PM
  • David McKee, CDC Gaming Reports

Century Casinos broke ground last week, the company announced today, on its new land-based casino in Caruthersville, Missouri. The $51.9 million project will take almost two years to complete, with a “late 2024” opening in view. The December 2 groundbreaking marks the beginning of a transition from a riverboat facility to one on dry land.

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As at its Cape Girardeau casino, Century will be adding a boutique hotel, this one with 38 rooms. The casino will have room for an initial 650 slot machines and the potential of going up to 790. An unspecified number of table games, a delicatessen, and a bar are also in the offing. Financing for the reinvention of the former Aztar Caruthersville as a Century-built property was via an amendment to the company’s master lease with landlord Vici Properties. Upon completion, Century’s annual rent will climb by $4.2 million.

Century aims to ease the transition by moving the casino component of its resort from an adjoining riverboat and barge into a temporary gambling hall by year’s end. The riverboat, operational since 1994, became inaccessible and this no longer operational this October due to low water levels in the Mississippi River.

Century also cut the ribbon on its newly acquired 36-room Farmstead Hotel. Century has owned the hotel since July of last year and spent $3.7 million renovating it in what the company describes as “contemporary Missouri farmhouse style.”

Century Casino Caruthersville has the distinction of being the last riverboat casino on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. When completed, the new Century complex will be cosseted by a flood wall, protecting the resort’s operations from the vagaries of seasonal flooding. The company’s stated intent is to reposition Century Caruthersiville into a destination resort for customers deeper in Missouri (the casino is located in the far southeastern corner of the state), Arkansas, and Tennessee.