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38-667: Originally known as the Broadwater Beach Hotel and Broadwater Beach Resort , it opened in 1939 as a venue for the illegal but tacitly approved gambling that was flourishing along the coast. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the gambling stopped and the facility was renovated and re-purposed as a resort destination with a state-of-the-art marina and other amenities. In its heyday the Broadwater Beach Resort hosted movie stars, leading politicians, and top business figures as well as people on vacation. It became

76-532: A heliport . The Broadwater Resort Marina plan was especially ambitious, involving hosting up to 150 sail and powerboats, and offering shore-to-ship maid service and room service to those docked, all in an effort to capture blue-water game fishing business. When the marina opened in 1965, it was considered state of the art. In 1968, she built the Broadwater Beach Sun Course on land originally owned by Jefferson Davis , and thus added golf as

114-484: A casino holding company owned by two local construction figures, Roy Anderson III and Cotton Fore – won a bankruptcy auction bid for the casino and resort for $ 82 million, amid speculation that they had overpaid. Anderson said of the barge, "It's a nice structure. But overall aesthetically, it's not going to fit into our master plan." On April 15, 2005, the deal closed; as part of it, the President Casino barge

152-415: A casino plying the waters of New York City which never materialized. The company ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 and has now divested itself of all its gambling operations. In 2006, Connelly was the subject of a family battle with his adoptive daughter Audree Wirginis to wrest control of the company on the basis of competence. He was ultimately removed as chairman of his companies. In

190-864: A dinner cruise company in New York City founded by Neil Heap and Peter Simonetta in 1969. Connelly got access to three berths in the Chelsea Piers and was instrumental in its redevelopment. He expanded the fleet to three boats. In 1988 World Yacht was purchased by Circle Line for $ 35 Million. In 1981, he acquired the largest excursion ship plying the Mississippi River —the SS Admiral in St. Louis, Missouri from Streckfus Steamers. He sold it to investors in 1982. He began managing it again in 1988 and reacquired it in 1990. He also acquired

228-405: A full-length 18-hole course. The casino featured over 38,000 square feet (3,500 m) of gambling with over 900 slot machines . However, no work had been done on the old resort and its hotel, resulting in its declining in appearance to a run-down state. The hotel capacity was down to 450 rooms and suites, and functioned mainly as a place for the casino barge customers to sleep briefly; furniture

266-651: A marina again. By September 2007, the Broadwater developers said they were close to signing with an international entertainment corporation to begin the work, and the Biloxi Planning Commission granted them an 18-month extension. But by October 2008, the global financial crisis had prevented anything from happening, and the Mississippi Gaming Commission gave an indefinite extension to the Broadwater site approval. In

304-628: A new casino and resort there did not materialize. In 2020 a new joint venture involving the Universal Music Group was formed to build a music-central entertainment and casino resort at the site. The Broadwater Beach Hotel was built in 1938 by investors seeking to gain the business of gamblers coming to casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast . It opened in 1939, and was built in Art Deco style. The first owner

342-528: A new resort and casino. Less than a month later, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore the casino barge from its moorings and washed it ashore ½ mile west of the Broadwater Resort Marina. The barge was a total loss, it was cut up as scrap and removed by a salvage company. (After the state passed legislation allowing riverboat casinos to build on solid ground with a traditional foundation as long as they were near navigable waterways,

380-524: A pioneer in gambling in three states, stock soared. Connelly held one-third of the company stock and he was worth $ 107 million. His total net worth of $ 370 million had him on the Forbes list of richest Americans. He entered the bidding to bring an expansion team to St. Louis after the St. Louis Cardinals left the city. However, the stock soon plummeted as Illinois legalized riverboat gambling and more casino competition arose. Further complicating matters,

418-656: A planned new $ 2 billion resort at the site, to be called Destination Broadwater, never materialized. In April 2001, the President Broadwater Hotel, which represented the non-casino operations, filed for bankruptcy. President Casinos filed for bankruptcy in June 2002, and the Broadwater casino the following month, but operation of the President Casino Broadwater Resort continued. In January 2005, Broadwater Development LLC –

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456-399: A prime attraction for visitors; by 1974 a Sea Course was also present. During the 1960s, a men's store was present in the hotel. For entertainment, the hotel featured musicians from New Orleans and elsewhere. From the 1950s on, operational control of the hotel and resort rested with Leigh MacConnell, one of the few women to rise to the top of the local hotel industry in that era. In the 1960s

494-742: 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: John E. Connelly John Edward Connelly (August 12, 1925 – May 16, 2009) was an American entrepreneur . He founded the Gateway Clipper Fleet in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, pioneered riverboat casino gambling along

532-669: The Great Flood of 1993 forced the lengthy closure of the casinos. By 1996 his share of stock was valued at $ 14.7 million. His Mississippi efforts were challenged by Jack E. Pratt of the Pratt Hotel Corporation which said it had the rights to develop the Broadwater Resort. Although the case was dismissed, Connelly paid out $ 1 million. He sold the Iowa casino after Illinois legalized gambling on its side of

570-521: The Mississippi Gulf Coast , following the Isle of Capri Casino which opened two weeks earlier. In June 1995, President Casinos replaced the riverboat with the former Mississippi Gold Shore Casino barge. The table games there were known for having lower limits than most other Biloxi casinos. Major country music stars performed there on Wednesday through Saturday nights, and the hotel had 550 rooms available across two structures. In 1997 and 1999, titles to

608-579: The Mississippi River via his President Casinos empire and founded a fleet of ships operating out of Chelsea Piers in New York City . He was a member of the Democratic Party . Connelly was born on August 15, 1926, in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. His parents died when he was 16. He was a coal miner and edited a newspaper at Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania . In the 1940s he was a Congressional assistant for Congressman Harry J. Davenport . In

646-620: 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

684-536: The Broadwater Beach Hotel was the setting for a fictional regional sales meeting in the 1982 Frederick Barthelme short story "Box Step". Entrepreneur John E. Connelly , founder of President Casinos , then gained control of the property, and the President Casino Broadwater Resort was opened aboard a riverboat docked at the Broadwater Resort Marina in August 1992. It was the second casino to open on

722-565: The Broadwater Beach Resort found its glory years. Hosting movie stars, leading politicians, and top business figures, as well as people on vacation, it became the Gulf Coast's flagship resort. During this decade, the iconic and colorfully lit Broadwater Beach Resort front sign was added. Hurricane Camille devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 1969. The resort golf club pro and his wife fought for their lives as

760-538: The Gulf Coast's flagship resort and its colorfully lit front sign was iconic. In 1992, President Casinos gained control of the facility, and after changing the name, added a riverboat casino and barge. The casino had a successful niche following among lower-end gamblers, but the problems of the parent company resulted in bankruptcy filings in the early 2000s. In 2005, new owners closed the resort and casino shortly before Hurricane Katrina destroyed them. The property has been empty since then. A plan in 2006–07 to build

798-499: The early 1950s, he founded J. Edward Connelly in Pittsburgh, which pioneered the concept of incentive marketing , or giving away products at banks and supermarkets in order to attract business. He was called the father of the practice and was called to testify before Congress after merchants complained it was an unfair practice. While being treasurer of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority which

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836-595: The early 1990s, Connelly pledged $ 13 million of the $ 20 million required to build the Domus Sanctae Marthae , a hotel at the Vatican where cardinals and other dignitaries would stay on visits to the Vatican (and where they stay during elections of Popes). When he made the pledge his shares of President Casinos were worth $ 107 million but by 1996 his share of stock was valued at $ 14.7 million. Connelly cut

874-657: 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,

912-513: The event, nothing happened, and by 2017 the site and the marina had been, as the local newspaper stated, "Lifeless for more than 11 years". One of the Broadwater Development LLC owners said they had seen some interest in the property, but no realistic offers. In October 2020, a new joint venture between the Universal Music Group and Dakia U-Ventures was formed to create music-themed entertainment luxury resorts. One of

950-785: The excursion boats Huck Finn and Becky Thacher as well as the Robert E. Lee floating restaurant. All of the boats formed a steamship row docked at the foot of the Gateway Arch . In 1990, Connelly acquired the President which was on the National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa . He also acquired the Blackhawk Hotel in downtown Davenport which is also on the National Register. Iowa

988-450: The first resorts was planned to be at this Biloxi site; under the name UMusic Broadwater Hotel, the property would be transformed into a $ 1.2 billion destination, with an expansive live music venue, casino, and a large resort hotel. 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

1026-460: The foundation slabs removed. Once the post-Katrina building boom began, the Broadwater site increased in value and several other casino operations indicated an interest in it. In March 2006, Broadwater Development LLC gained city approval for creating The Broadwater resort, a $ 1 billion plan that would feature two casinos, 3,375 condo units, 1,900 hotel rooms, an 18-hole golf course, large amounts of retail entertainment space and convention space, and

1064-418: The new Silver Slipper Casino would be built from the ground up instead and open in late 2006.) The hotel in the resort part was still standing but heavily damaged by Katrina, with the storm surge reaching the second floor. The famed sign was destroyed. The marina too was wrecked and closed. The golf course did not reopen. The hotel subsequently underwent demolition, which concluded by November 2006 with even

1102-655: The pledge to $ 7 million and received a contract to exclusively sell reproductions of Vatican art in the United States. However, the deal was eventually halted after he could not market the art beyond Pittsburgh. His donations to Saint Louis University resulted in the school renaming the main dividing street for the campus from "West Pine Mall Boulevard" to "John E. Connelly Mall". Connelly died of congestive heart failure on May 16, 2009, at his home in Indiana Township, Pennsylvania , north of Pittsburgh. He

1140-418: The resort property and barge were formally transferred from Connelly to President Casinos. By the early 2000s, the President Casino Broadwater Resort sat on 260 acres (1.1 km). The powerboat-oriented Broadwater Resort Marina had 118 berths, and was regarded by one published guide as "one of the best full-service, luxurious marinas between Mobile and New Orleans." The President Broadwater Golf Club offered

1178-776: The river. In 1993 the company entered into an agreement with the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Tribe to develop a land-based casino in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It would lose $ 4.1 million on the project which was never built. President Casinos entered into a planned casino in Gary, Indiana which fell through. It lost $ 11 million when a proposed casino in Philadelphia fell through. In 1995, it closed its money-losing casino in Tunica, Mississippi . The company pitched

President Casino Broadwater Resort - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-472: The storm wrecked their pro shop apartment. The hotel's first floor was carved out by the storm surge, expensive furniture floated out of the lobby, and the marina suffered moderate damage. But the resort rebounded and by 1977 it was described by the New York Times as a "bustling colony of rooms, cottages, restaurants, golf courses, tennis courts, and its own marina." Conferences were held there, and

1254-527: Was Pete Martin Sr., a well-known gambler and rum runner along the coast. He openly ran a casino within the hotel, as even though it was nominally illegal at the time, gambling was part of the social and economic fabric of Biloxi. After Martin died, openly illegal gambling was frowned upon, and new owners tried to appeal to just the tourist market. In 1958, it was bought by Joe Brown, a Texas oil millionaire. Following his death in 1959, his widow Dorothy Brown, who

1292-411: Was a noted New Orleans philanthropist , renovated the property for a more modern look, including a wide arched canopy in the front. In the early 1960s, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was emerging as a prime alternative to Florida as a southern vacation destination, and the Broadwater Beach Resort was considered the pacesetter for the area. In 1963, Dorothy Brown spent $ 3 million to build a marina and

1330-580: Was cleaning up Pittsburgh rivers he came up with the concept of starting excursion boats to show that the rivers around Pittsburgh had been cleaned up. In 1958 he started the Gateway Clipper Fleet . He acquired the Sheraton Hotel at Station Square in 1981. In 1971, he was the Democratic nominee in a race to replace Representative Robert Corbett who had died in office. He lost to John Heinz . In 1983, Connelly acquired control of World Yacht,

1368-437: Was piled up in corridors, the hotel main floor entertainment rooms were empty, and weeds grew on the resort's tennis courts. Nevertheless, the resort still made reference to its pre-casino past, calling itself "one of the last great Southern resorts on the Mississippi Gulf Coast." The casino itself found a niche market among local gamblers and was a reliable earner. President Casinos was saddled with corporate debt, however, and

1406-534: Was purchased for $ 6.8 million by Silver Slipper Casino Venture LLC with the intention of operating it under the name of President Casino until it could be moved to their site in Hancock County, Mississippi , where the Silver Slipper operators thought it would fit in. On July 31, 2005, the Broadwater Beach Resort closed its doors, with Broadwater Development announcing plans to tear it down and build

1444-733: Was the first state to legalize riverboat gambling in modern times and the President became one of the first casinos to open. In 1992, he acquired the President Casino Broadwater Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi . It was the second casino on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi. In 1992, Connelly formed President Casinos . In 1993, he converted the Admiral in St. Louis to be one of the first casinos in Missouri after that state legalized gambling. As

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