By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
While the St. Jo Frontier Casino might have re-opened for business, a major portion of the casino remains under repair.
Frontier Casino Vice President Mike Tamburelli says the casino, slots and tables, re-opened Saturday. The land-based portion of the casino – the bar, buffet, and ballroom – were heavily damaged by the flood and is undergoing restoration.
“We’ve had design teams come in,” Tamburelli tells St. Josephs Post. “So, we’re going to re-design our bar, re-design our buffet, actually the whole area. There’s a ballroom that we have to take care of. We don’t know right now. It’s going to be at least a couple of months.”
Flooding from the Missouri River closed the St. Jo Frontier Casino in mid-March. Floodwaters heavily damaged the land-based portion of the operation. The casino, which floats on a moat of Missouri River water, simply rose with the floodwaters and was not damaged. Floodwaters, though, surrounded the complex and had to recede for it to re-open. A new entrance has been constructed so patrons can enter the casino directly.
Tamburelli says the casino is attempting to turn something bad into something good.
“We’re really getting a brand-new buffet, a brand-new bar,” Tamburelli says. “It’s strange it happened. It’s unfortunate. But, we are going to remodel.”
And while the casino is open for business, Tamburelli looks forward to having the full operation back soon.
“This is the opening, but in June we’re celebrating our birthday here. So, I think we’ll combine that and, hopefully, the land-based facility will be open, too. So, we could really make it a grand re-opening.”
The St. Jo Frontier Casino celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer. The casino, though now at a different location, opened June 24th of 1994, one of the first four casinos to operate in Missouri.