BOYD GAMING TO MOVE QUICKLY

Following Tuesday's vote giving the green light to slot machines on Missouri's gambling riverboats, at least one developer who had put two riverboat casino proposals on hold is going to be moving "very quickly."

Boyd Gaming Corp. officials have been meeting in Las Vegas since early Wednesday morning to discuss plans for projects in Kansas City and Cape Girardeau.

"We'll continue our planning sessions into next week," said Charles "Chuck" Ruthe, president of Boyd Gaming Corp., headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev. "We want to move our plans to the front burner."

The first order of business at Cape Girardeau will be to contact city officials and get started on contractual agreements.

"Things are going to happen very quickly," Ruthe said. "Hopefully we'll be in contact with the city next week and pick things up."

Boyd Gaming is still planning a $51.1 million project for downtown Cape Girardeau. The project includes a $24.7 million riverboat and a $26.4 million for a land-based facility which will include parking garage and retail space.

"We'll take delivery on the boat next month or early January," said Ruthe. The boat will remain moored in Louisiana until the docking facility is ready at Cape Girardeau, sometime in 1995.

Tuesday's vote marked the second time in seven months that Missourians had been asked to legalize games of chance such as slot machines on riverboats. In April a similar measure was narrowly defeated. This time, the vote passed 54 percent to 46 percent.

Cape Girardeau County supported the measure by a slight margin, 12,308 to 12,152. Much of that support came in the 18 city precincts, where voters passed the measure by 1,306 votes, 7398 to 6092.

Much of the paperwork already has been completed for the contract negotiations with the city.

"We have the impact study report on water, sewers and streets," said J. Ronald Fischer, Cape Girardeau city manager. "And we have already negotiated with a company to do plan reviews and site inspections."

Fischer said the city is in general agreement on the impact study.

"There are a few things we have to talk about," he added. "But we have 90 percent of everything out of the way and are ready to discuss the development agreement."

The agreement won't be approved overnight, but Fischer said the city is ready to exert all efforts necessary to get the project moving.

Boyd Gaming already has applied to the Missouri Gaming Commission for a license at Kansas City.

"I don't know where we are on the list,' said Ruthe.

A spokesman for the Gaming Commission didn't offer any additional information. "We have some license applications but we're not making any further announcement at this time," he said.

The downtown office of Boyd Gaming has been busy the past two days.

"There's a lot of excitement down here," said Evelyn Boardman, Cape Girardeau representative for Boyd. "Our telephones have been busy."

Many of the callers have been interested in available property, for sale and/or rent, said Boardman. "Others are calling about employment opportunities, and still others are service representatives and vendors."

Resumes can be left at the Boyd office at 110 Themis, and vendor information and applications are available there.