With the Mississippi River as a picturesque backdrop, Century Casino Cape Girardeau will hold a groundbreaking at 9 a.m. today for a new $26 million downtown hotel projected to be complete by late 2023.

Lyle Randolph is general manager of Century Casino Cape Girardeau. A groundbreaking for the casino's $26 million hotel is planned for 9 a.m. today.Southeast Missourian file

Lyle Randolph, general manager of the casino at 777 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, plans to offer remarks and will be joined by three European-based members of Century Casinos Inc.'s Board of Directors: Co-CEO and board chairman Erwin Haitzmann, Dinah Corbaci and Eduard Berger. All three board representatives traveled to Southeast Missouri from their homes in Austria.

Randolph said the trio will also visit the company's Caruthersville, Missouri, casino during the U.S. visit, plus two properties in Colorado and another in West Virginia.

Changes

The hotel will have six stories instead of the eight originally projected and will have a maximum of 69 rooms instead of 75 — a decision made in the last 60-to-90 days, said Randolph, who has led the Cape Girardeau casino since 2013.

"Other businesses have discovered it's not unusual when it comes time to actually build, that the cost has actually skyrocketed, so we've adjusted our plans for our hotel," he said.

Century Casino's initial plan was to have all 75 hotel rooms facing the river. The new arrangement preserves most of the design but Randolph said there will now be some non-river facing rooms at the corners of each floor.

The space occupied by former steakhouse and buffet operators at the casino will be reconfigured, Randolph said, and become part of the new hotel lobby.

Reaction

"The City of Cape Girardeau is very pleased to see this level of investment from Century Casino," Mayor Stacy Kinder said Wednesday.

Erwin Haitzmann, co-CEO and co-founder of Century Casinos Inc. will be present at today's groundbreaking for Century Casino Cape Girardeau's new hotel. The $26 million, six-story development should be completed by the end of 2023.Submitted

"We see visitors really enjoying the ability to stay downtown and be close to the attractions there — and the hotel will be a wonderful addition to that space," she added, while noting the revenue generated for the city through turnstile admissions since the casino opened Oct. 30, 2012 — a city/casino agreement still in place.

Some Casino Fund monies have been used, city officials said last year, for riverfront development.

Century Casino acquired the former Isle Casino Cape Girardeau in December 2019.

A more extensive interview with Randolph will appear in Tuesday's Business section.