ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Regulators likely would move quickly to consider a plan to relocate the President Casino to a new spot on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, the head of the Missouri Gaming Commission said Wednesday.

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. wants to move the financially troubled President away from downtown St. Louis to a spot near the Chain of Rocks Bridge on the city's far north side. Spokesman Mack Bradley said Pinnacle has not yet made a formal application to move but plans to approach the city and the Gaming Commission soon.

The move would require approval from the Gaming Commission, and executive director Gene McNary said it makes sense for the commission to consider the proposal quickly.

"I think the Gaming Commission agrees that the boat is old, the hull is not good," McNary said. "So if Pinnacle decided to file an application we would move as quickly as possible to move the President."

Also potentially expediting the move, McNary said, is the fact that Pinnacle's executives already have undergone background checks, and a survey has already been performed on the site where the casino would potentially move. He declined to estimate how long the approval process might take.

The President sits on the riverboat long known as the Admiral, which used to take excursion cruises up and down the river. The three-deck boat is outdated as a casino -- other Missouri casinos are newer, on one level, and no longer sit directly on the river.

Bradley said the hull of the President is more than 100 years old. Even if the boat is moved north, it could eventually be replaced by a new structure, he said.

The downtown site is problematic for many reasons, Bradley said. Chief among those reasons is increased competition, especially from another Pinnacle property.

Last December, Pinnacle opened its $507 million Lumiere Place casino and hotel complex at the Laclede's Landing area of downtown, just a few hundred feet from where the President sits, not far from the Gateway Arch. Just across the river, the new Casino Queen casino opened last year in East St. Louis, Ill.

Revenue for the President was down 57 percent in October compared to a year ago -- before Lumiere Place opened. For the first four months of the fiscal year, revenue was down 62 percent. It didn't help that the President had to close for 45 days because of flooding this summer. And a parking shortage has long been a problem near the casino, Bradley said.

Bradley and McNary said experts believe the Chain of Rocks site would be a good location for a casino. Interstate 270 carries traffic over the river there, providing easy access to the new site.

"Our hope is we'll get a better location, see how the market develops, and that will make us smarter about what kind of long-term facility you need up there," Bradley said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)