CASINO MAGIC NEAR DECISION ON NEW PLAN

Officials of Casino Magic likely will decide the first week of December whether to seek a second election in Scott County that could allow it to establish a riverboat gaming development at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority.

Doug Whitehead, senior Missouri project coordinator for the company, said Monday that his company is still interested in having another election. But at this point, he said, no final decision has been made.

Casino Magic is one of the finalists for a development at Laclede's Landing in St. Louis. A decision will be made on that project early next month.

"We will wait and see how things go in St. Louis, but talks are still going on with officials at the port and in Scott County and Scott City," said Whitehead.

He explained that the company's decision on what to do at the port authority and the considerations now under way in St. Louis are not related, except that the company's resources are now concentrated in St. Louis.

On Nov. 2, voters rejected the local option for riverboat gaming in Scott County. Had it passed, Casino Magic was ready to move forward with a $30 million first-year development at the port authority on about 25 acres of land.

The option to lease that the company signed with the port authority in October expires April 30, leaving time for another election.

Whitehead said he prefers the next election, if there is one, to be soon.

"The sooner the better."

Available election dates next year are in February, March and April.

Since voters in both wards of Scott City approved the option on Nov. 2, some consideration has been given putting the proposal before Scott City voters rather than running another countywide campaign.

However, the port authority would have to be annexed into the city before that option could be viable.

Said Whitehead: "We're working on it actively and have had some meetings with the city and the county, and it is still under consideration. We're studying the impact of Cape Girardeau winning. But to this point no final decision has been made. However, we are still interested."

On the same day voters in Scott County turned down the gaming issue, voters in the city of Cape Girardeau approved it, meaning there could be a boat less than 10 miles from the port.

Mysie Keene, chairman of the board of the port authority, said there have been no detailed discussions with the gaming company since the election as far as she knows, but she expects to know something for sure by the end of the year.

Scott County Presiding Commissioner Durward Dover said he has not been contacted by anyone with Casino Magic since the election. He believes the company is now trying to put together a plan to have an election only within the city of Scott City.

Dover would not express an opinion on holding an election only in Scott City.

Said Dover: "I don't have an opinion because I don't know enough about it as to what their plans are or how they will do it. They have not included us in any of their discussions.

"It was voted on in Scott County and the people voted no. That put us out of the ball game. If Scott City wants to do it, it would totally be their project."

On the other hand, Dover said the Scott County Commission would be willing to discuss any request for another countywide election.

"If they did, we probably would need to do it with a petition rather than a vote of the commission," said Dover. "It would be hard for the commission to try and overrule the no vote, because the people had the right to vote the way they did."

Dover said he believes the best approach countywide would be for proponents to circulate petitions.

"If they get enough signatures on a petition, it is going on the ballot without our approval and would take it out of our hands," Dover said. "I'm sure they could get enough petitions to go again if they really wanted to."

If the election was limited to Scott City, and the port authority was annexed into the city, then Scott City would stand to gain about $2 million a year in additional revenue. That money comes from a 2 percent share of the gaming receipts and a $1 per person boarding fee, provided for in state law to the entity where a boat is docked.

The county would receive direct benefits only from sales tax receipts and additional property tax.

If the issue was approved in Scott County, the county would receive the $2 million in projected fees.

If Scott City decided to put the gaming issue before voters, and the port authority's board of commissioners agreed to a friendly annexation into Scott City, there is probably nothing the county commission could do, Dover said.