The old river boat casino known as The President now sits disassembled in a field in south-central Illinois.
By 2010, if all goes as planned, the 300-foot vessel will be back together and serving as a hotel and conference center. Effingham businessman David Campbell had the boat broken into pieces at its old home in Alton and moved to St. Elmo, in Fayette County. Building mover Jeremy Patterson doesn't remember how many pieces the 1,000 ton boat is broken into, but it's a bunch. Patterson will now weld them back together on Tower Lake.
The President will be visible from interstate 70. Campbell says the whole project will cost about $10 million.
