Century gaming casinos in Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville, Missouri, have shown monthly and quarterly admission increases, according to the latest available Missouri Gaming Commission data.

At Century Casino Cape Girardeau, admissions rose 1% in September and are up a modest .02% for July through September compared to the same period in 2022.

In Caruthersville, double digit monthly and quarterly increases have been recorded, up 12% and 11%, respectively.

Lyle Randolph, vice president of operations for Century and general manager of the company's Cape Girardeau casino, noted the hikes in both locations.

"We saw a favorable increase in Cape in September despite additional competition in the market," Randolph told the Southeast Missourian on Friday, Oct. 20, referring to the Aug. 25 debut of Walker's Bluff Casino & Resort in Carterville, Illinois, approximately 75 minutes by vehicle from Cape Girardeau.

"The results at Cape are encouraging as construction of the new (casino) hotel has impacted some guest parking in recent months," he added.

Century Casino Cape Girardeau's $26 million, six-story, 69-room hotel being built by Jackson's Penzel Construction is expected to open next spring, Randolph said.

The spike in admissions at Century's Caruthersville property represents a recovery after a difficult 2022, Randolph said.

"Last year, the extreme low water levels (at Caruthersville) were impacting operations and subsequent move into the temporary casino in the pavilion has allowed the operation to avoid similar issues in 2023," he said, noting a newly renovated hotel at the site, called The Farmstead, "has driven additional customers" to the casino.

General contractor for the renovation was Cape Girardeau's Columbia Construction.

Of note

In parsing Commission statistics, Randolph added the following data point.

"Although customer counts increased in September, revenue was down slightly at Century Casino Cape Girardeau (because of) a significant increase in winners during the month — 90.3% of slot play was paid out to customers," he said.

Statewide, six of Missouri's 13 licensed casinos saw admission hikes in September with the Missouri-wide turnstile increase matching Cape Girardeau's 1% increase.