Terrible's Mark Twain Casino was on pace to have best year ever until closing for two weeks last month

By EDWARD HUSAR

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

LaGRANGE, Mo. -- Mark Twain Casino's revenue tumbled by about 50 percent last month -- a decline of roughly $1.4 million -- when the gaming facility was forced to shut down for two weeks because of flooding in LaGrange.

However, despite being closed to the public, all 287 employees kept working and receiving their paychecks.

"I kept everyone on payroll," said general manager Bob Thursby.

As the flood-gorged Mississippi River began creeping up the streets of downtown LaGrange in mid-June, blocking public access to the casino's parking lot, Thursby decided to shut down the seven-year-old gaming operation June 17. He did not lay off anyone, because he believed that would have imposed a financial burden on many of his employees.

"It would be kind of tough, especially on our entry-level people," he said. "They can't go two weeks without a paycheck. It would just crush them. So we made the decision that (keeping everyone on payroll) was an important thing to do."

Employees were shuttled to and from an accessible casino entrance by van from a hillside gathering spot.

"I kept them busy," Thursby said. "I brought them in, and they helped clean and paint and tidy and fix things."

Mark Twain Casino reopened July 1 and is once again in full operation. Thursby said he was relieved to see regular customers return once the floodwater receded.

"It's been real strong since we reopened," he said.

June 2008 will stick out prominently in the seven-year-old casino's record book.

Figures released this week by the Missouri Gaming Commission show Mark Twain Casino's revenue totaled $1,387,424 in June -- a 50 percent drop from a year ago.

It was the worst full-month performance since the casino opened July 25, 2001.

"Almost half our revenue was gone," Thursby said.

The casino had been on pace to complete its best year ever, but when the fiscal year ended June 30, the casino's total revenue for the year stood at slightly more than $32 million, about $600,000 shy of the record set two years ago.

"We were doing real well," Thursby said.

Thursby said the casino managed to avoid major damage from the flood. While 85 percent to 90 percent of the parking lot was smothered in floodwater at one point, water did not get into the casino itself.

"If the river had come up another foot, it would have been inside our building," he said.

The gaming floor actually floats on a barge in a moat, while the rest of the business is on land. Had water gotten into the moat area, "we would have had some serious problems," Thursby said. "It would have contaminated the water in there, and we would have had to drain it and clean it and refill it and sanitize it -- things I have nightmares about."

Before the casino was knocked out of service, the facility spent about a week shipping food to workers filling sandbags in LaGrange, Canton and Quincy, Ill.

"Then when we did close, we donated all of our perishable food to the Red Cross," Thursby said. "They made good use of it."

Despite last month's financial hit, Thursby feels "very, very fortunate" that the facility escaped major flood damage.

"I hope this doesn't happen again for another 500 years," he said.

-- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378