DOCKSIDE GAMBLING IS STILL ALIVE IN ILLINOIS

A last-minute push for a wide-ranging gambling bill that would have permitted dockside gambling fizzled in the final hours of the Illinois General Assembly that ended early this month. But legislators and riverboat casino operators believe the issue will surface again during the session that just began.

"The dockside gambling issue will be looked at again," said state Sen. Jim Rea of Christopher, Ill. "It will be one of the items on the spring agenda."

Dockside gambling has received positive comments from some members of the Illinois Legislature.

"It would certainly have a positive effect on our operations," said Jeff Pfeiffer, vice president of marketing and casino operations of Players Casino at Metropolis, Ill. "We're supportive of dockside operations."

More than 2 million patrons visit the Metropolis casino each year.

With a dockside operation, cruising would be out. Currently gambling boats in nine Illinois communities must cruise every two hours.

Gov. George Ryan said in March before he was elected governor that he opposed expansion of gambling but would allow dockside gambling, where boats could stay moored as they do in neighboring states so gamblers could come and go when they wish.

"That still stands," Ryan spokesman Dave Urbanek said Tuesday.

Rea said he would support dockside gambling if a good bill not muddied with a bunch of "attachments" is proposed. "I feel that if a good bill comes the votes will be there to pass it," he said.

Dockside gambling legislation is not new in Illinois: Proposals have been around ever since riverboat gambling started in Illinois in 1993. But in most cases other interests have cluttered the proposals, and they failed.

The goal has been to find a way to help Illinois riverboats, which have been losing customers to neighboring states that operate under fewer restrictions, mainly cruising.

The most recent proposal would have allowed a new riverboat gambling casino in Cook County for the first time while lifting restrictions on present riverboat gambling activities. The bill also would have allowed casino licenses to be transferred statewide. It would have provided some tax relief for the horse-racing industry, which claims that riverboat gambling has hurt business.