FROM DAY ONE, GAMBLING AROUSED DEBATE

When a split Cape Girardeau City Council agreed in January to place the issue of riverboat gambling on Tuesday's ballot, few observers doubted the matter would be controversial.

The controversy began at that meeting as council members debated whether to consider Charles Hutson's request to place the measure on the ballot or instead require proponents of riverboat gambling to proceed with a petition initiative.

Hutson is president of the Cape Girardeau Downtown Redevelopment Corp.

Joe Low of Cape Girardeau asked the council to resist "short circuiting" the citizens on the issue. "Let the democratic process work," he said. "Let the people speak, and what they say be the will of this community."

The Rev. Roy Jones countered by comparing riverboat gambling to fool's gold. "I look at gambling much like I look at a piece of rock that was given me with gold in it, only to find out it was fool's gold," he said. "The gambling industry has a few winners, but for the most part deals losers."

"This puts the council in a rather interesting dilemma moral as well as legal," said Councilman Al Spradling III. "We're not going to win, whatever we do tonight."

Councilman Doug Richards said a June election would give both sides sufficient time to mount their campaigns for and against gambling. "I believe after a long education process we will have a clear consensus on this issue," he said.

Although both sides have tried to educate voters, it's doubtful there's any "clear consensus" now, two days from the weighty decision.

The debate has been vigorous, with at least two public forums on the issue, radio call-in surveys, 31 letters to the editor of the Southeast Missourian (26 opposed to riverboat gambling, four in favor and one neutral), and countless calls to the newspaper's "Speak Out" column.

Below is a chronology of some of the highlights of the election campaign.

Feb. 24

The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board agrees to hold three "town-hall" meetings to discuss advantages and disadvantages of a riverboat casino.

But many citizens object to using city money for what they consider promotion of riverboat gambling, forcing the CVB to rethink the matter.

March 17

The CVB Advisory Board decides not to sponsor the meetings on gambling.

March 18

The Cape Girardeau County Chapter of the American Family Association announces it will host an informational question-and-answer forum on the issue April 18 at the Show Me Center.

April 11

The Southeast Missourian publishes the results of an exit poll conducted during the April 6 election. Nearly half the voters who responded to the poll said they would have voted against allowing riverboat gambling in the city. Forty-one percent said they would have voted "yes" and about 10 percent were undecided.

Men supported gambling by a 48-44 percent margin with 8 percent undecided. Women opposed gambling 53-34 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

April 18

A forum on riverboat gambling held at the Show Me Center draws an audience of only 15 people and a panel of three speakers who oppose gambling.

No one spoke in favor of riverboat gambling during the two-hour program, which was sponsored by the Cape Girardeau County branch of the American Family Association.

April 20

Organizers of Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling make their first public statements, citing the title of a popular movie and calling the issue an "indecent proposal" for the city.

The group includes representatives from more than 30 churches and religious organizations in the city that are convinced the social costs of gambling outweigh the economic benefits.

May 11

KZIM radio conducts the first of three telephone surveys on the issue. With 157 listeners responding, 57 percent say, if the election were held that day, they would vote no on riverboat gambling; 43 percent said they favored the measure.

Two days later, KZIM conducts another telephone poll, with almost opposite results. The 110 respondents favor riverboat gambling by a margin of 54 percent to 44 percent.

May 14

The Boyd Group of Las Vegas, Nev., pledges to make a $37.5 million capital investment in Cape Girardeau if voters approve riverboat gambling.

The company, which owns and operates four casino and resort hotels in Las Vegas, reveals its proposal for a riverfront development and floating casino at a news conference at Cape Girardeau's Holiday Inn.

The proposed complex would include a $13.5 million three-deck riverboat casino and $15 million in land-based developments. The budget also calls for $6 million in gaming equipment and $3 million in other expenditures.

May 19

The Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, by unanimous vote of five members present, essentially endorses riverboat gambling by "acknowledging the positive aspects" it would have on the region's tourism industry.

May 20

An economic impact study conducted by Pauline Fox, an economics professor at Southeast Missouri State University, predicts the Boyd Group's proposal would bring nearly $150 million into the Cape Girardeau economy in its first year of operation.

May 25

About 285 people attend a forum on riverboat gambling, where opponents claim legalized gambling would impoverish Cape Girardeau morally and proponents laud a casino's economic benefits.

Earlier that day, the Cape Girardeau Downtown Merchants Association Board of Directors voted to endorse riverboat gambling.

May 25

Mayor James Wilson of Cairo, Ill., says he's interested in spearheading an effort to bring a riverboat casino to East Cape Girardeau, Ill., should Cape Girardeau voters reject Tuesday's proposal.

May 27

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, in what officials described as the chamber's most controversial decision ever, votes to endorse the riverfront gambling issue.

The decision is based on a survey of chamber members. Of the 450 members who returned the questionnaires, 292 favored the issue and 158 opposed it.

June 3

KZIM conducts its third and final call-in poll, which shows an even wider margin of approval among listeners to the station. Of the 161 callers who responded, 58 percent say they'd vote yes on riverboat gambling and 42 percent say they would vote no.