BOYD OFFICIALLY REJOINS GAMBLING EFFORT IN CAPE

Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. on Thursday officially rejoined the campaign to bring riverboat gambling to Cape Girardeau.

At a press conference, the pro-gambling Yes Group announced its endorsement of the Boyd company's bid to acquire a gaming license in Cape Girardeau. The Yes Group also said it had invited Boyd to participate in its drive to win over voters in the Nov. 2 election.

Dan Davis, a consultant to the Boyd company, said its campaign will be conducted from "an informational standpoint" and will be separate from the efforts of the Yes Group, which is concentrating on getting out the vote.

Downtown businesswoman Evelyn Boardman, one of five directors of the Yes Group, is a Boyd employee, but Davis said the local organization is running its own campaign.

"Sometimes I don't agree with what they're doing," said Davis.

The Boyd Gaming Corporation, headed by president Chuck Ruthe, formerly was called the Boyd Group. The name has been changed because the company is about to go public, a spokesman said.

Ruthe said in a statement that his company, which owns four casinos in Las Vegas, including the Stardust, is ready to build "a jewel in the Midwest."

Prior to the first riverboat gambling vote last June, Boyd announced its proposal to put a $37.5 million gambling development on the Cape Girardeau waterfront. But city voters rejected the local option by a ratio of 53-47 percent, or a total of about 550 votes.

The Boyd company spent more than $163,000 on that election, in which it was opposed by a church-oriented group called Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling.

The Yes Group formed immediately after the election defeat, and gathered enough signatures to put the gambling issue back on the ballot.

A spokesman for Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling saw little of note in Thursday's announcement.

"It's not clear to me what the news story is here," said the Rev. Charles Grant. "It seems to me the Boyd Group has been involved in the campaign all along. Their marketing specialists are in town."

Grant said the Boyd company's renewed visibility in the election campaign "makes no difference to us. We're not interested in gambling being here in the city. The issue is not the vendor. The issue is the product."

Boyd spokesmen said the announcement earlier in the week that Casino Magic Corp. has signed an agreement with the Southeast Missouri Port Authority will have no effect on Boyd's plans.

Davis said Casino Magic's claimed speed in putting a boat in the water -- less than 90 days in two instances -- shouldn't give it an edge over Boyd in the race to establish gambling locally.

"It may be an advantage for the casino, but is it an advantage for the city?" he asked. "...Because it can leave quickly as well."

Boyd supporters point out that the company's plan calls for a substantial amount of development on land.

David Knight, a Yes Group director, said the organization endorsed the Boyd bid because the company has been committed to Cape Girardeau "since day one. We're not interested in any Johnny-come-latelies," he said.