Cape Girardeau casino to mark a decade in operation

On Oct. 30, Century Casino Cape Girardeau will mark 10 years of successful operation at 777 Main St. by looking back to its 2012 founding as Isle Casino Cape Girardeau and by looking forward to the planned early 2024 opening of a $26 million, six-story, 69-room hotel on casino property.

What may be forgotten by all but those with longer memories is the casino effectively revitalized the river city's Red Star district.

"Red Star" is a cherished reference to what the land now occupied by the casino used to produce long ago: shoes with a distinctive red star on the side.

St. Louis's Roberts, Johnson & Rand Shoes built a behemoth factory on Main Street and began production in 1907. According to local historian Beverly Hahs, the business became known as International Shoe in 1919, and boasted a peak employment of 1,600 souls making soles by 1935.

After acquiring Florsheim Shoes during the Dwight Eisenhower presidency in 1953, Florsheim moved its Cape Girardeau operations to Highway 74. The factory on Main was demolished in 1990.

More than two decades later, the land was repurposed for legalized gaming.

Today, local casino operations generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, employee wages and local philanthropy.

Figures compiled by Century Casino Cape Girardeau, the 13th and most recent Missouri Gaming Commission licensee, illustrate the financial impact.

Oksana Patterson, players' club supervisor at Century Casino Cape Girardeau, demonstrates the operation of a gaming machine Wednesday, Oct. 5 as casino general manager Lyle Randolph looks on. The casino will mark a decade in operation Monday, Oct. 31.Jeff Long

• Tax revenue: A total of $28.8 million since inception has gone to the City of Cape Girardeau, the designed "docking city" for the casino. Revenue share payments, part of the original development agreement, are also paid to Cape Girardeau County and the municipalities of Jackson and Scott City.
• Employee compensation: In excess of $10 million since casino operations launched.
• Charitable contributions: $1.2 million since 2012.

"The casino has been, and continues to be, a positive economic force for the city, (located) in Ward 1. The hotel adjacent to the casino will undoubtedly create an even more significant impact and we look forward to additional downtown hotel space," said Stacy Kinder, Cape Girardeau's mayor. "The casino is an active participant in many community organizations and serves as host for a great number of events — the marathon and Shipyard Music Festival are but two examples. We are very pleased to see continued interest from Century Casino in serving as a good community partner in these and other ways and look forward to the corporate relationship growing ever stronger in the future."

Lyle Randolph, Century Casino Cape Girardeau general manager and native of New Madrid County town of Gideon, Missouri, points out the initial $128 million local casino development has been enhanced since by more than $14.5 million in additional investment.

Randolph was asked to comment about the high level of regulation in the casino industry, which his predecessor, former Isle Casino manager Chet Koch, once said rivaled that of America's nuclear industry.

"Absolutely it does, yes. We have highway patrolmen sitting here today, usually multiple officers, anytime we're open," said Randolph, who has been in charge of the local casino since 2013.

"I think Missouri took the right approach. They wanted casinos well regulated and didn't want the challenges other states have had. We pay taxes on every business day and we also have to have reserve funds available, too."

Randolph, who began his career in the industry as a surveillance agent in 1995 at Casino Aztar in Caruthersville, Missouri, points out the Cape Girardeau casino pays a $2 tax on each gaming floor customer, split between the state of Missouri and the City of Cape Girardeau.

Randolph said in addition to a tax paid on admissions, Century Casino also pays a gaming levy of 21% on gross revenue.

He also noted budget documents detail how the City of Cape Girardeau has spent some casino-received money for various needs — including $630,000 to cover pandemic-related shortfalls.

Lead cook Cheryl Garrett of Cape Girardeau works in the kitchen Wednesday, Oct. 5, at Century Casino. Casino general manager Lyle Randolph is at left. The casino, along the Mississippi River at 777 Main St. in Cape Girardeau, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.Jeff Long

Origins

Brandon Pate, left, and Phil Lannom release a steel beam from a crane Feb. 23, 2012, after securing the beam into position at the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau site. A ceremony was held to commemorate the beam's placement, which had been signed by dignitaries and community members. An evergreen tree and U.S. flag were placed on the beam as it was hoisted into position, in keeping with a "good luck" tradition. The now-Century Casino opened in late October 2012.Southeast Missourian file

• May 1991: Missouri Legislature OKs a referendum to be put before state voters on whether legalized gambling should be allowed.
• November 1992: Missouri voters approve Proposition A by 62% to 38% , authorizing riverboat casinos on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
• November 1993: Cape Girardeau voters approve a local casino by 52% to 48%.
• November 2010: Following news of the availability of an open casino license with the closure of St. Louis's President Casino on the Admiral, Cape Girardeau voters take a second casino authorization vote, which passed 61% to 39%.
• Oct. 30, 2012: Isle Casino opens in Cape Girardeau.
• December 2019: Isle Casino — along with casinos in Caruthersville and New Cumberland, West Virginia — is purchased by Century Casinos Inc. from Eldorado Resorts Inc. The name is changed to Century Casino Cape Girardeau.

Ups and downs

Recent figures obtained from Missouri Gaming Commission show periods of higher and lower casino admissions over the past two years.

To wit: All the state's 13 casinos showed lower year-to-year turnstile traffic in July except River City in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, which reported a 6% uptick in admissions.

Century Casino Cape Girardeau had a 9% drop in July admissions compared to the same month a year ago.

Since March, monthly activity at the local turnstiles has been down 9% to 15% compared to the comparable period in 2021.

By contrast, Century Casino Cape Girardeau posted strong gains from July to December 2021. In five of those months, the double-digit admission increases were posted.

February 2022 witnessed an 18% jump in traffic year-to-year.

Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer, left, Ole Hickory Pits president David Knight, center, and Mayor Harry Rediger listen to remarks March 31, 2011, at the groundbreaking ceremony for Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. The casino, now known as Century Casino Cape Girardeau, is marking its 10th anniversary this month.Southeast Missourian file

Competition

Walker's Bluff and Casino in Carterville, Illinois, in the Carbondale area, plans to open a 116-room hotel in 2023.

Randolph said while a Cape Girardeau casino hotel has been in discussion for "several years," the prospect of competition for overnight casino guests a little more than an hour away at Walker's Bluff figured into Century's decision to accelerate its own hotel plan.

Looking ahead

"I want to come back in 10 years, drive down North Main Street, and see it all fully developed between Broadway and the casino. I see the casino and the Red Star area as the north anchor, the River Campus on the south side, and connecting those, I think, is really important for the City of Cape, to preserve the downtown," Randolph opined. "The downtown, to me, is the heartbeat of the city."

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