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Casino Parking Lot Dispute Heats Up

MISSOURI – As reported by the St. Louis Post Dispatch: "How much is too much to pay to park a car in downtown St. Louis?

"At the very least, it's a bit less than $25, according to the President Casino on the Admiral.

"In an apparent power play over control of the much-disputed 'Cherrick' parking lot, its owner has jacked up more than tenfold the price the President pays for customers to use the lot.

"It's the latest move in a dispute over the lot on Laclede's Landing. The bankrupt President says it needs the nearby lot to stay in business. But the city wants to condemn the property for use in a $400 million complex being built by rival casino operator Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.

"Now, lot owner Columbia Sussex Corp. says it's trying to force the President to buy the lot. The President argues that it wants nothing more than to do that, but it can't because of the possible condemnation.

"Columbia Sussex, a Kentucky-based hotel and casino operator, was charging the President $1.50 a car as recently as mid-December. In just a few weeks, the fee has risen to as much as $25 a car, President officials said Tuesday.

"…The sky-high price has caused the President to resort to other measures for parking, such as using the Mississippi River frontage, but those alternatives aren't feasible for very long, [John Aylesworth, chief executive of President Casinos ] said…"

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