CITIES DIGEST GAMBLING VOTE IMPLICATIONS

SCOTT CITY -- An air of uncertainty swept not only the state's capital after Tuesday's statewide gambling vote failed, but abounded in places like Scott City and Cape Girardeau, where voters had approved local gambling initiatives.

Scott City residents on Tuesday voted in favor of the local gambling option, 728-652. But the vote might be moot with the failure of Amendment 3 statewide.

After almost two weeks in Scott City, representatives of gambling companies left town following Tuesday's vote. No one knows when, or if, they'll return.

"Last night I was tired and came straight home from Benton," said Shirley Young, former mayor of Scott City who now is president of the Scott City Chamber of Commerce. "But I stayed up to hear what would happen in the rest of the state. I went to bed disappointed."

Young spearheaded a pro-gambling campaign in Scott City, citing as its benefits economic development and city revitalization.

"I was so pleased that the Scott City voters pulled together and approved the measure," said Young. "We thought it was a no-lose situation. We were wrong."

In Cape Girardeau, where voters approved the local gambling option in November, officials adopted a "wait-and-see" attitude.

The Cape Girardeau City Council had agreed to hold another local vote in June had Amendment 3 passed. Those plans now apparently will change.

"Our view has been that if it was defeated in the state, then there is no option locally in Cape Girardeau," said City Manager J. Ronald Fischer on Wednesday.

Al Spradling III, who was elected Cape Girardeau's mayor Tuesday, agreed.

"We don't have a vote in June, because it's a moot issue at this point," said Spradling. "If the legislature goes back and redesigns the amendment and appeases some of other areas, there might be a different complexion to the issue. But at this point, the city doesn't know what the state's going to do."

Amendment 3 would have approved slot machines and other "games of chance" on the riverboats. Without the slots, Fischer said he doubts Boyd Gaming Corp. -- the company that received the city's endorsement for a local gambling license -- will float a casino in Cape Girardeau.

"The information I have received from the riverboat companies is that slot machines are a high-profit item, and without that I don't think it would be a profitable venue," Fischer said.

In Scott City, three gambling firms -- Royal Casino Group, Lady Luck Gaming and Eagle Gaming -- expressed interest in competing for a gambling license.

Members of a Scott City gambling committee reportedly met Wednesday to discuss the city's next move. Efforts to determine the time and place for the meeting were unsuccessful.

Leah Christopher, a spokesman for Lady Luck, on Wednesday echoed what gambling representatives and officials throughout Missouri were saying.

"I think everyone is still trying to determine where to go from here, what makes sense, and the timing," Christopher said. "All those things are being asked now."

Asked whether Lady Luck would operate a boat without slots, Christopher said she didn't know, but that the decision must be made by each operator in each market.

"Lady Luck is still committed to gambling in Missouri, and the state is still considered a viable market," she said. "This is just part of the process. There will be a delay, but we remain optimistic and committed."

Fischer said that if the state reintroduces a gambling amendment in the future, Cape Girardeau is poised to move forward with another local vote.

"If at some point it becomes legal in the state of Missouri, we feel the staff has worked out a good agreement with a qualified company that will be positive for the community financially," he said.

In Scott City, the situation is more complicated. Even if a statewide amendment is passed in the future, Scott City likely will have to vote on the local option a second time.

That's because Scott City would have to annex property to gain riverfront. City Attorney Francis Siebert has said that property owners in the annexed land probably will have to be given a vote on the matter.

Even if that vote is unnecessary, gambling opponents in Scott City have vowed to challenge Tuesday's vote in court.