BOYD'S MISSOURI PLANS IN LIMBO

The mooring facility has been tentatively approved, traffic and sewer impact studies have been completed and agreed to, and the development plans have been reviewed and are ready.

The only thing lacking is a development agreement.

That is the latest on Boyd Gaming Corp.'s plans for a riverboat gambling casino along the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau.

That is the way it will remain until after the November election, when Missouri voters decide whether to allow slot machines on riverboat casinos.

"We haven't been in contact with Boyd officials over the past four to six weeks," Cape Girardeau City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said. "The city staff has assumed that everything has been placed on hold until after the November election."

"We do need to look at the outcome of the upcoming election before we make definitive plans," Boyd President Charles L. Ruthe said.

Discussing the worst of scenarios -- the failure of Amendment 6 at the polls Nov. 8 -- Ruthe said Boyd would have to take a second look at the Cape Girardeau area and see if some type of operation would be feasible.

"We're confident that the issue will pass this time," he said. "We have not discussed what we would do if it failed."

Ruthe added that all Missouri plans were "based on a full plate of gambling" and could change without Amendment 6.

In the best of scenarios -- the passage of Amendment 6 -- Boyd officials would put all Missouri plans back in the pipeline and move forward.

"As soon as the issue passes, we will get everything dusted off," he said, and "our construction people will start analyzing things and we'll get busy."

Boyd's $51.1 million development plan for Cape Girardeau includes a $24.8 million investment in a 1,350-passenger riverboat casino and $26.4 million in land development.

The riverfront development is a parking and entrance facility that would take up a large portion of Main Street from Broadway to Park Drive.

Ruthe couldn't project a timetable for opening.

"We were originally looking at an April 1995 date," he said. "But that was before the issue failed in the April 1994 election."

Last April, voters turned down a measure to legalize slot machines by about 1,200 votes.

With winter coming, the opening date could be stretched to early next fall if the issue passes.

The St. Louis District Corps of Engineers has given an initial approval to build a permanent mooring facility on the Mississippi River.

The mooring site will be about 500 feet north of the Broadway flood gate.

Meanwhile, Lady Luck Gaming Corp., which has signed a $63 million development contract with Scott City, will continue with its project as agreed, said Leah Christopher of Tretter-Gorman Inc., a St. Louis marketing firm hired by Lady Luck.

The Scott City Council adopted the Lady Luck proposal July 19. The timetable depends on how quickly permits can be obtained, Christopher said.

Lady Luck has named three possible sites for its operation -- a parcel east of Rhodes Travel Center on Nash Road north of Scott City; a site at the end of Route N east of Scott City, and land at the head of the Diversion Channel.

Riverboat gambling stock has declined in recent months.

During the past nine months, 47 of the 59 gambling stocks listed on various stock exchanges have dipped, from 5 to a whopping 75 percent.

On the other side, a dozen gambling stocks have increased.

Boyd and Players International Inc., which has operations at Metropolis, Ill., and Lake Charles, La., are among the companies showing only small stock declines.

Boyd was listed at $13.38 on the New York Stock Exchange last Dec. 31. A week ago, Boyd stock was listed at $12.75, a 5 percent decline.

Players' stock was listed on the NASDAQ Exchange at $24.75 Dec. 31. The latest report showed Players at $24.

Lady Luck Gaming was listed at $10.75 last December. It dropped to less than $3.50, a 68 percent decline.

Bally Gaming International Inc., which has an operation at Tunica, Miss., is one of the largest gainers.

Bally stock increased from $7.25 in December to $13.63, a gain of 88 percent.

Aztar Corp., which has been selected to operate a riverboat gambling casino at Caruthersville, is also among the gainers. Aztar stock increased from $6.63 in December to $6.88.