Casino Dollars and Sense

Ten thousand versus three million.

Those two figures have been stuck in my head lately.

Ten thousand dollars is the approximate amount of annual taxes currently paid on the property in downtown Cape Girardeau that the Isle of Capri is hoping to use to build a casino.

Three million is the reported amount of annual property taxes the company will pay if Cape Girardeau residents vote in favor of casino gambling on November 2 and if the Gaming Commission awards them Missouri's coveted thirteenth license.

The process is certainly not a cakewalk for Isle of Capri. While Cape Girardeau is being touted by some as the best of the four proposed casino sites in the state, the local anti-casino forces -- doing business as the Quality of Life Committee -- mustered over 3000 signatures to get the issue put on the November ballot.

Now the same folks are trying to convince a majority of the Cape Girardeau citizens to vote no on the casino issue effectively snuffing out the city's chances of ever landing one of these businesses.

That's their prerogative. They've been waging a quiet campaign using things like the newspaper's Speakout forum and submitting Letters To The Editor touting the evils of casinos.

But while they've been attempting to use their moral compass to guide Cape Girardeau residents into voting against casino gambling, they've not offered any alternative solutions to reviving a dilapidated part of downtown. The area was rundown when I was a student at the University in the 1980s and 25 years later little has changed.

Ten thousand versus three million.

Now some of the anti-casino folks have noted that the casino in Caruthersville recently requested their property taxes be cut. Their point is that a casino in Cape will likely do the same thing some time in the future.

That certainly is possible. However, businesses will do things like that, if they feel their appraised property values are too high.

Think that kind of thing doesn't happen here in Cape Girardeau? Wrong.

Several of the "Big Box" retailers located on and around Siemer's Drive did just that last year. At least three of those stores requested a reassessment and shared their sales numbers with the Cape Girardeau County Assessor. Their efforts resulted in a reduction of their property taxes by fifteen to eighteen percent from 2008.

Ten thousand versus three million.

I'm not so naive to believe that a casino in downtown Cape will be all sunshine and puppies. I am no Pollyanna. There are drawbacks to every situation.

Will a casino be a temptation to those people with a gambling addiction?

Undoubtedly, as I'm sure the dozens of fast food restaurants in Cape Girardeau are a temptation to morbidly obese people. However, no one is trying to shut down McDonald's because Junior can't stop shoving Big Macs down his pie hole. The gambling temptation is already here in this area, readily available in multiple forms from dozens of legitimate businesses. A casino is just one more legitimate business.

I also doubt the casino will be much of a boon to other downtown businesses. Most people will go to the casino, entertain themselves at the games of chance, possibly eat there and then go home without sampling the rest of the riverfront district.

One reason I believe this will be the case is because of the proposed location of the casino. It will be three blocks from the rest of downtown. That's a long walk in the middle of July when the humidity is thick enough to slice, or in the dead of winter when bone-chilling gusts are blowing in from off the river.

And let's not forget that parking is not the best in most of downtown. Pretend you're an out-of-town visitor to the casino. Would you want to try to find a parking space closer to the current downtown business district to have dinner or would you rather sample the fares at the restaurants in the Isle of Capri? It's a bit of no-brainer.

However, I also believe that particular situation can be resolved. One proposal I heard was that the casino might work with local downtown restaurants to accept comps, or meal vouchers. If that occurs I think it would certainly encourage visitors to explore the rest of the riverfront district. A shuttle service of some kind might also be beneficial.

On November 2, the voters from the City of Cape Girardeau -- myself included -- will decide if we even want the chance to have a casino located here.

Do we want a business investment in Cape Girardeau that dwarfs anything the city has ever seen in a part of downtown that has been decaying for decades? Do we want a project of this size that is not requesting any tax credits or TIFs?

Do we want several hundred construction jobs to help build the project? Do we want several hundred full-time jobs to run the business? Do we want additional entertainment choices in the form of gaming and a 750-seat showroom?

And do we want an annual increase in the local property tax base of almost three million dollars?

I do, and that is why I will be voting Yes on November 2.