The mystery of a riverboat casino queen parked at Pier 6 at the foot of
Atlantic Avenue has been solved: It sailed from Red Hook.
The riverboat — known as Casino St. Charles in a former life —
floated into Brooklyn Heights after the construction of an Ikea furniture
store displaced it from a Beard Street pier.
The yellow-and-red trimmed barge has been tied to Pier 6 since the end
of January, parked there by Circle Line, which bought her from Riverboat
Station Casino in St. Charles, Missouri, in 2000.
It took six months for the paddleboat-style vessel to voyage from the
Big Muddy to the Big Apple, but in the three years since, she hadn’t
moved off the Brooklyn piers.
Circle Line says it will — eventually.
“When the time is right, we’re going to turn her into a catering
hall,” said Circle Line President Robert Maher, adding that Brooklyn
was not the boat’s final port of call.
Back in Missouri, the St. Charles sat on a riverfront esplanade in a historic
district of parkland, cafes and water-taxis — not much different
from what is now proposed for the Brooklyn piers (except for the gambling).
The boat’s slot machines and gaming tables have been stripped out.
But even with the taint of gambling gone, the St. Charles has been bothering
many Brooklyn Heights residents — especially those who can read its
cheery “Casino of the World” emblem from their bay windows.
“Are we Vegas now?” asked Brooklyn Heights resident Barbara
Charton. New York rules require gambling boats to operate at least three
miles offshore, in international waters.
The boat is expected to ship out by May 1, when construction on the Brooklyn
Bridge Park waterfront development is scheduled to begin.
