BOYD WANTS THIRD CITY VOTE

Boyd Gaming Corp., which last week won the city's endorsement for a riverboat casino in Cape Girardeau, is seeking a third local vote on riverboat gambling.

Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd said the company's action was prompted by differing legal opinions as to whether the April 5 statewide referendum on riverboat casino "games of chance" also will require local approval.

"We've asked the city to hold a new referendum as soon as possible," Boyd said. "The next possible date is in June, and we encourage the city to move forward with this.

"Because of the differing legal opinions on whether another election is necessary, we believe we must be conservative and not take any chances," he said.

Cape Girardeau residents approved riverboat gambling in November, and Boyd Gaming's $51.2 million proposed riverboat casino complex in downtown Cape Girardeau was endorsed March 7 over a competing proposal by Lady Luck Gaming in the southeast part of the city.

The November vote came after gambling proponents mounted a successful petition drive to put the issue back on the ballot following its defeat here in June.

Since then, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that portions of the state's riverboat gaming law are unconstitutional and must again be sent to voters.

Cape Girardeau City Attorney Warren Wells has said it's unclear whether cities that have approved the issue locally will be forced to re-vote.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said Monday it will be up to the city council to decide whether to authorize a third vote.

"If it is to be put on a June election ballot, we would have to have it to the county clerk by mid-April," Fischer said. "But all this is up to the council. We'll advise them on their options at the next city council meeting."

City officials have said they don't relish the thought of another contentious election on the issue.

On Monday, some opponents of riverboat gambling promised a fight similar to the clash over the first two votes.

But Richard Martin, a Cape Girardeau physician and one of the founders of Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling, said the issue could be moot if Missouri voters reject the statewide measure next month.

Martin questioned whether voters truly understand what's on the ballot April 5.

"The bottom line is that we'll be voting statewide for or against slot machines," he said. "If we vote down the slot machines, I don't think we would have to worry about (casino operators) coming to Cape.

"My feeling is, `Why talk about a vote in June, when you've got an issue in April?'"

Another gambling opponent, City Councilman Melvin Gateley, who also is a mayoral candidate in the April 5 municipal election, said he would not participate in a third gambling vote campaign.

"I'm too busy with my activity with the (mayoral) campaign," Gateley said. "As a citizen, I'll have my thoughts when I go to vote, but I won't be involved in any campaign for or against it."

If voters approve the new constitutional amendment April 5, and the city holds a third election, Martin said he would participate in any opposition campaign.

"I think if there was a chance to keep out what I feel is, and what many others perceive is, a negative factor in our community, I would certainly support that effort," he said.

Martin said that although proponents paint gambling as a "moral issue versus an economic issue," there is growing evidence that casinos are a drain on local economies.

He cited recent articles in U.S. News and World Report that took a critical look at the gambling boom in the United States.

"Gambling's like a parasite," Martin said. "It increases the blood supply in the local area, but it siphons the blood from the periphery."