Isle of Capri Development

Discuss items in the urban core outside of Downtown as described above. Everything in the core including the east side (18th & Vine area), Northeast, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Valentine, Waldo, 39th street, & the entire midtown area.
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KCMax
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Isle of Capri Development

Post by KCMax »

Casino unveils expansion plan

Kansas City’s Isle of Capri Casino is poised for an $85 million expansion and facelift. The package will give it more parking, more restaurants, more slot machines, a special events arena and a new grand entrance off Front Street.

The redesign scheme presented to the Port Authority calls for:
■■A Caribbean village facade and new porte-cochere entrance on the building’s south side off Front Street, which will flow into the casino’s ground-floor level.
■ A 1,000-car garage addition that would stretch the current 650-car structure south toward Front Street and offer new indoor entrances to the casino complex.
■ The current casino buffet and VIP lounge would be moved to the new main entrance structure.
■ That new structure would also include a new buffet and two new restaurants, plus a 1,000-seat, 12,000-square-foot concert and event arena that could be partitioned into smaller meeting and party spaces.
■ The current buffet area would be remodeled as an expanded gambling floor, with new escalators linking the split-level casino.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by bahua »

It's nice to go to a casino and have a fun time without gambling. I went to Harrah's for a concert, last week, and had a blast. It's nice to see that the casinos are realizing that there's a boatload of money to be made, just from offering a nightlife.

I moved the topic to Urban Core, since this casino is not North of the River.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by knucklehead »

I would like to see the Isle of Capri expansion coordinated with the constructuion of the new Paseo bridge.

The whole thing should be shifted to the west so it is on the berkley park side of the new I-35 bridge. That way it can serve as the eastern anchor tenat for riverfront development.

Building a new larger casino from scratch would provide more stimulas for down town.

Also, I think a hotel on the berkley park side would do well. One side would have views of the river and the new landmark bridge. the other side would have views of the river and downtown.

I think Isle of Capri is thinking to small on this one. Unfortunately, the bridge may be so far off into the future that using this opportunity to do something good may not be practical.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by LenexatoKCMO »

Michael® wrote: You can thank Cleaver for letting them build outside of downtown instead of at the foot of downtown. Cleaver let all of the casinos build in wastlands outside of downtown instead of creating a critical mass of attractions. This project won't add one pedestian or visitor to downtown. Typical KC thinking - I hope it's changing.
I can't think of too many examples of US cities where casinos are very well integrated with the downtown cityscape.  The big Harrahs in pre-Katrina New Orleans and old downtown Vegas are the only ones I can think of.  I wonder if this has more to do with the corporate philosophy of the casinos or with moralistic politics.  I could see it argued both ways from the casino's perspective - on the one hand getting street traffic and easy entry has to be an advantage - but on the other hand don't casinos typically want to trap you on their own little island. 
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by dangerboy »

Michael® wrote: You can thank Cleaver for letting them build outside of downtown instead of at the foot of downtown. Cleaver let all of the casinos build in wastlands outside of downtown instead of creating a critical mass of attractions. This project won't add one pedestian or visitor to downtown. Typical KC thinking - I hope it's changing.
Where would you have had them build?  I can't think of any site closer to Downtown than the current Isle of Crap location.  Any further west would have meant building on parkland or the Town of Kansas archeological site.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

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LenexatoKCMO
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by LenexatoKCMO »

Cold Storage would have definitely made for a nice casino. 
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by jimb »

LenexatoKCMO wrote: Cold Storage would have definitely made for a nice casino. 
Except that it can't float...
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by dangerboy »

LenexatoKCMO wrote: Cold Storage would have definitely made for a nice casino. 
Casinos have to be in the river or right next to it.  Cold Storage building is way too far away.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by LenexatoKCMO »

Neither can most of the others - they are just moats.  Our only actual floating casino - Sam's town -  is tits up. 

Besides I was speaking irregardless of the silly law - it would have made a damn fine casino. 
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by kcdcchef »

LenexatoKCMO wrote: Neither can most of the others - they are just moats.  Our only actual floating casino - Sam's town -  is tits up. 

Besides I was speaking irregardless of the silly law - it would have made a damn fine casino. 
screw that. all the other casinos could not float if they were shoved in the river. at first, argosy and sams actually went up and down the river. harrahs, ameristar, and isle never had to float. so, this whole concept of riverboat casinos being boats is fucken dumb.

micheal is psuedo right, we should have put the boats near downtown, it would have been a great thing to have put at the foot of the west bottoms. would have brought that neighborhood back to life, and fast too.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by aknowledgeableperson »

Michael® wrote: You can thank Cleaver for letting them build outside of downtown instead of at the foot of downtown. Cleaver let all of the casinos build in wastlands outside of downtown instead of creating a critical mass of attractions. This project won't add one pedestian or visitor to downtown. Typical KC thinking - I hope it's changing.
There were many reasons why the casinos were built where they were built.
One of the important reasons of their placement where they are was that it was not controlled by local government but the Corps of Engineers.
And their placement had to be near facilities that could support the touring boat or later the boat in a moat.
I may be right.  I may be wrong.  But there is a lot of gray area in-between.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by GRID »

Isle of Capri has yet to figure it out and they are going to waist 80 million on this "expansion".  Isle will still not be able to compete with any of the other casinos just because they have a bigger garage and a fancy entrance.  Too bad, the central location and proximity to hotels etc would make it a great location for a massive destination style casino/hotel/entertainment complex like what Ameristar has built.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by trailerkid »

GRID wrote: Isle of Capri has yet to figure it out and they are going to waist 80 million on this "expansion".  Isle will still not be able to compete with any of the other casinos just because they have a bigger garage and a fancy entrance.  Too bad, the central location and proximity to hotels etc would make it a great location for a massive destination style casino/hotel/entertainment complex like what Ameristar has built.
It's not just a new entrance...Argosy spent $75 M on their renovation and IMO it's as nice as Ameristar now in terms of aesthetics (oxymoron for casinos). $80 M will make Isle of Capri look like a new casino.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by kcdcchef »

GRID wrote: Isle of Capri has yet to figure it out and they are going to waist 80 million on this "expansion".  Isle will still not be able to compete with any of the other casinos just because they have a bigger garage and a fancy entrance.  Too bad, the central location and proximity to hotels etc would make it a great location for a massive destination style casino/hotel/entertainment complex like what Ameristar has built.
this will help them, because not only is it a new entrance and parking, it allows them to almost double their gambling area. now, they will use almost ALL of the areas that house the restaurants. because of missouri gaming laws, the whole boat is zoned for gambling. so, it is easier to do the whole pavilion thing and increase the gambling that way, moving all of the restaurants to the pavilion. this will help them a lot.

2 things, do not kid yourself, this will help them a lot, and two, just thank god they are going to make it look better. it is by far and away the ugliest casino in kc. and unlike what some think, it is not north of the river. it is south of it.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by Mr. Cranky »

kcdcchef wrote: it is by far and away the ugliest casino in kc.
Remember what it USED to look like when it was the Flamingo? Wish I had a picture. It was lit in the most unbelievable fashion. I nearly drove up a light pole when I saw it for the first time.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by Tosspot »

Mr. Cranky wrote: Remember what it USED to look like when it was the Flamingo? Wish I had a picture. It was lit in the most unbelievable fashion. I nearly drove up a light pole when I saw it for the first time.
I thought it was absolutely hilarious looking when it was the Flamingo. It reeked tackiness to the point of being humorous. It was to Kansas City what the London Bridge is to Lake Havasu Arizona.
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by staubio »

I can't help but wonder what kind of disincentive for development it is that the casino does not own the land on which they build.  The Port Authority acts as the landlord for the casino.  Do the other casinos own their spots or are they all on public right-of-way since they are on the river?
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Re: Isle of Capri Development

Post by dangerboy »

I know Harrah's and Argosy also make lease payments to their cities, but I think Ameristar might be on private property.  It seems fairly common, since lots of riverfront land is publicly owned.
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