GAMBLING PROPOSALS DETAILED

SCOTT CITY -- The Lady Luck Gaming Corp. showed the Scott City Gambling Committee Saturday that it has an ace or two left in the hole.

Lady Luck, which upped the ante in the final days of the running when the company was vying for a Cape Girardeau riverboat gambling site, again made an attempt to best its opponent -- this time with an alternate site for a Scott City development.

With plans to choose a riverboat gambling operator for the city on Monday, the council's gambling committee met Saturday morning to hear details on alternate site proposals by both Lady Luck and the Royal Casino Group Inc. of Calabasas, Calif.

At the meeting, Lady Luck outlined a proposal to place a riverboat gambling complex just east of the Rhodes Travel Center on Nash Road, with the boat itself to either be moored in, or to cruise the waters of, the Diversion Channel on its way to the Mississippi River.

At a special meeting of the full council Thursday, both companies presented what were supposed to be final plans for their respective operations in Scott City. At that meeting, Lady Luck proposed a $63.2 million facility, centered at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. The Royal Casino Group told the council it intends to set up shop at the headwaters of the Diversion Channel, on private property optioned by the company.

So at Saturday's meeting before Lady Luck was given the opportunity to make its pitch, Jon F. Elliott, president and chief executive officer of the Royal Casino Group, sternly objected to the committee allowing his competition to amend its proposal.

"According to a letter from (Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan) of April 7, to the three remaining gaming companies allowed to present their proposals ... the rules established for presentations were clearly stated," said Elliott in a statement prepared for the committee. "The first rule was that final plans be presented at the meeting on (Thursday)."

Elliott also argued that Lady Luck's proposal Thursday was not based on current Missouri state law, which disallows games of chance on riverboats. Royal Casinos, however, modified its plans for a Scott City development based on the failure of a state constitutional amendment April 5 that would allow games of chance on board.

"As (Lady Luck) stated in their presentation that they felt the law would change and that the defeat of the statewide measure on April 5 was only a postponement, they would proceed with their original plan," said Elliott. "This was not within the boundaries of present Missouri law."

Despite Elliott's objections, the gambling committee decided to move forward and hear what Lady Luck had to offer.

Gary Heisel, project coordinator for Lady Luck, told the council his company's alternative site was under option and "completely feasible."

He also touted Lady Luck's expected approval for a gambling license for an operation in Kimmswick, which he said would expedite the licensing process for a Scott City boat.

"We would be reviewed much more rapidly because the State Gaming Commission would have already accepted us as an operator in Missouri," said Heisel. "Where it would take other companies 22 months to get a gaming license, it would take us about six (months)."

Elliott answered Heisel's claims by pointing out several casino companies' withdrawals from Missouri ventures following the failure of the statewide gambling vote, thus moving Royal's application up in line.

But with both proposals comes the question of the legality of having a riverboat in a backwash of the Mississippi River. Missouri law states that riverboats must cruise in either the Mississippi River or the Missouri River.

Both companies vying for docking rites in Scott City are seeking a declaratory judgment on current legislation, to classify the Diversion Channel as part of the river itself. Both would also seek to moor a boat or a barge, rather than have a cruising vessel.

Questions arose Saturday about the feasibility of Lady Luck's plan to put a 285-foot boat in the Diversion Channel. Heisel said the company plans to do a great deal of dredging along the channel and in Ramsey Creek, and, if necessary, use the headwaters of Ramsey Creek as a turnaround point for the boat.

"This is nothing new to Lady Luck -- we've done several projects similar to this one before," he said.

He added that the change in location would not change the total investment package the company was prepared to offer.

When asked about total investments, Elliott took the offensive, calling Lady Luck's proposal a "truck stop casino," and defending his company's commitment to the city.

"We are proposing a $10 million facility for Scott City until what time Missouri law changes to allow games of chance," he said. "Then, when a state amendment passes, we will go in with a joint venture partner and develop the $32.5 million facility we promised at first.

"If you want someone with a deeper pocketbook, pick (Lady Luck)," Elliott added. "If you want someone who is concerned with your city, ready to work with you and willing to commit to a long-term operation, choose us."