President Casinos  President Casinos was a gaming company and casino operator based in St. Louis, Missouri that was active in the 1990s. In the 2000s it went into bankruptcy and had liquidating by the end of the decade. The company was founded in 1991 by Pittsburgh millionaire John E. Connelly who owned the Gateway Clipper Fleet and SS Admiral. Its riverboat casino The President in Davenport, Iowa which opened in April 1991 was one of the first modern riverboat casinos in the Midwest and South after they started becoming legal. It began trading on NASDAQ in 1992. On June 20, 2002 President Casinos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On April 15, 2005 the President Casino Broadwater Resort in Biloxi was sold to Broadwater Development. On February 24, 2006, Pinnacle Entertainment announced that it would purchase the President Casino Laclede's Landing for $31.5 million. On December 21, 2006, Pinnacle Entertainment completed the purchase of the casino. It has sold all of its operations since declaring bankruptcy and as of February 2009 is making its final distribution of assets. The company lost several million dollars in unsuccessful attempts get gambling franchises in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, New Orleans and the Catskill Mountains. Its only operating casinos were: