3 companies tell gaming commission of interest in Cape casino

Three development companies have told the Missouri Gaming Commission they are interested in obtaining a gambling license for Cape Girardeau, the commission announced Tuesday.

Eight other companies have said they are interested in the license, but four of them did not name where they want to put casino if they get the license that will become available July 1. Missouri law imposes a limit of 13 casinos statewide, and the lone available license is up for grabs because the President Casino in St. Louis must close.

Four localities -- Cape Girardeau, Sugar Creek, Mo., Louisiana, Mo., and St. Louis -- sent letters of interest, making a total of 15 letters to the commission.

Dream Big LLC, a partnership of local businessmen David Knight and Jim Riley, answered the commission's call for expressions of interest in obtaining the license. Knight and Riley have put together real estate holdings on North Main Street and in 2008 unsuccessfully fought the law that imposed the license limit.

Another company is St. Louis Capital Partners LLC, an Alton, Ill.-based firm formed by former officers of Argosy Gaming Co., one of the early players in riverboat casino development in Illinois and Missouri, said Joe Uram, one of three principals in the company. Argosy was purchased by Penn National Gaming in 2005.

The third company expressing interest in Cape Girardeau is called Unbridled Entertainment, with M. Shawn Cox named as the contact person. No company by that name has been organized in Missouri, and LeAnn McCarthy, spokeswoman for the commission, said all she knows about the company is that it gave a Mason, Ohio, address.

City manager Scott Meyer said he had been contacted by a representative of Unbridled Entertainment and said the company has gambling interests elsewhere.

Commission staff will meet May 18 with all the interested parties at an open meeting for a discussion of the license application process. The staff will be interested to know how long it will take casino companies to prepare applications, with the commission itself considering a timetable at its May 27 meeting, McCarthy said.

Cape Girardeau is an attractive market because it is underserved, Uram said. A casino in Cape Girardeau could draw customers from a large portion of southwestern Illinois, he said.

"We like the opportunity to attract out-of-state dollars," Uram said. "Casino gambling is an industry with voluntary taxation, so Illinois taxpayers volunteering to pay money to the state of Missouri is an attractive feature, whether it is in Cape Girardeau or St. Louis or St. Louis County."

Uram was chief financial officer for Argosy. Other members of St. Louis Capital Partners LLC are Tom Long and Jeff Roberts, both former top officials with Argosy. All have held top-level Missouri gaming licenses.

Cape Girardeau has been approached by all three of the companies that expressed interest, Meyer said. He said he intends to meet with leaders of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and Cape Girardeau Area Magnet to begin developing a list of requirements a casino operator should meet to win endorsement from the city.

The level of interest in Cape Girardeau is encouraging, Meyer said. "That to me says that at least the people in the know believe that Cape is a good location."

The process for selecting a casino partner for the city will be conducted openly, Meyer said.

"We'll probably have an initial meeting asking them to tell us what their vision is, why they are the right match, and anybody who wants to can come and participate in it," he said.

Any company chosen will have to be an asset to the city, not a liability or a drain, Meyer said. Infrastructure upgrades to prepare a property for a casino will need to be underwritten by the casino, he said, and the right company will want to be a part of, not change, the city's vision in the Comprehensive Plan and the DREAM Initiative master plan.

"We are not looking to turn the community into something we are not now," Meyer said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

3417 Knipp Drive, Jefferson City, MO

Cape Girardeau, MO

Louisiana, MO

Sugar Creek, MO

St. Louis, MO