BOAT GAMBLING: LAS VEGAS FIRM PROPOSES RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT

The Boyd Group of Las Vegas, Nev., has pledged it will make a $37.5 million capital investment in Cape Girardeau if voters approve riverboat gambling in the city next month.

The company, which owns and operates four casino and resort hotels in Las Vegas, revealed its proposal for a riverfront development and floating casino at a news conference Friday at Cape Girardeau's Holiday Inn.

"Cape Girardeau has a rich history of steamboats and the river," said William S. Boyd, chairman of The Boyd Group. "In the history of many river cities, surges of economic growth and new opportunities have always revolved around the river."

Boyd Group officials said the proposed complex would include a $13.5 million three-deck riverboat casino and $15 million in land-based developments. The budget also calls for $6 million in gaming equipment and $3 million in other expenditures.

The proposal is contingent upon voters approval June 8 of riverboat gambling in the city. The Boyd Group isn't the only casino company courting Cape Girardeau.

Robert Hendrix, president of the Chamber or Commerce, said Friday at least two other gaming companies have contacted city leaders to discuss the possibility of making their own proposal for a riverboat.

Representatives of Players International, which operates the riverboat in Metropolis, Ill., met last week with local officials to discuss riverboat plans. Also, a consultant for a gaming company called "Summit" called Hendrix last week, he said.

Boyd said the Mississippi River has "untapped potential" in terms of tourism for the city.

Charles Ruthe, director of the company, said the riverboat would bring 800 jobs directly related to its operation and another 800 secondary or ancillary jobs related to businesses that service the boat and boat workers.

"In Nevada, for every job gaming creates, we create one and a half secondary jobs," Ruthe said.

He said salaries and wages for the riverboat's first year of operation would total $16.1 million. He estimated the annual payroll at $22 million.

Ruthe also reported projected tourism expenditures for the estimated one million visitors to the boat in its first year of operation. "In the first year, the tourism expenditures will total $36 million," he said.

Ruthe also estimated that the city's share of the boat's revenue in the first year would total about $1.9 million $1 million for a $1 per-head passenger fee and $900,000 in revenue from the Missouri gaming tax.

Ruthe called the $1.9 million annual figure a "conservative estimate." He said that over five years the riverboat would bring to Cape Girardeau 1,600 jobs, a $37.5 million capital investment, 5.2 million visitors and $191 million in tourism expenditures.

The state's tourism tax and the per-head entrance charge would bring another $10 million to the city and $49.1 million to the state, he added.

Ruthe said The Boyd Group also would benefit the city in other ways. "We will be part of this community, and not just with this facility," he said.

The company repeatedly has donated money to various charitable organizations in and around Las Vegas, he said, something that would continue in Cape Girardeau.

Boyd presented a rendering of what the riverfront development would look like a parking and entrance facility that would take up a large portion of Main Street from Broadway to Park Drive.

He said the riverboat landing would be built in a "Victorian style" to match other properties in the downtown area. A "catwalk" to the boat would traverse the river's floodwall. At the boat, an adjustable floating dock would accommodate a 48- to 52-foot change in the river's depth.

Robert Boughner, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Boyd Group, estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 persons would visit the boat daily.

Ruthe said that if voters approve the riverboat gambling ballot issue next month The Boyd Group will immediately begin to work on the facility.

He said once the land acquisition and proper permits are obtained the company would have the project complete and operating in "about a year."

Boughner said he hopes residents will try to find out more about the issue of riverboat gambling. He invited citizens to take part in a public forum on the matter scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

The riverboat would be 254 feet long and 78 feet wide. Ruthe said the vessel would resemble 19th century riverboats and carry 1,350 passengers. In addition to the casino, food and beverages would be available on the boat.

The land-based development would include restaurants, retail offices, Boyd Group offices, an 800-space parking garage and a 900-space, surface parking lot.