Gaming commission head: Casino license decision likely by September

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Awarding the only available Missouri casino license will likely be a quick process that is over by Sept. 1, Missouri Gaming Commission executive director Gene McNary said Tuesday to a room full of companies and communities interested in the license.

In a meeting that lasted a little more than 50 minutes, McNary explained the process the commission will follow and said the first deadline will be for an economic analysis each prospective applicant must submit detailing what a casino would do for the community in any particular location. That economic analysis will be due July 15.

McNary then asked each prospective casino developer how long it would take to develop a full application. When Joe Arum of St. Louis Capital Partners LLC said it would take 90 to 120 days beyond the July 15 date, McNary said that was too much time.

Asked how long the commission would spend considering the applications once they're received, McNary said he expects the license to be awarded by Sept. 1.

"I don't see them going longer than that," he said.

Gaming regulators are in new territory with the license competition. In 2008, Missouri voters approved a law limiting the number of casinos in the state to 13. On July 1, the President Casino in St. Louis will close, making a single license available.

Cape Girardeau, which unsuccessfully sought a casino license in the 1990s, wants to bring the license to the downtown riverfront. City manager Scott Meyer and Cape Girardeau Area Magnet executive director Mitch Robinson attended Tuesday's meeting, as did businessmen Jim Riley and David Knight. Riley and Knight are partners in DREAMBig LLC and own land along North Main Street considered a likely location for a Cape Girardeau casino.

The timelines outlined by McNary are reasonable, Meyer said. He has set a June 3 meeting for the Cape Girardeau City Council to listen to ideas from potential casino developers.

"A timeline that moves it ahead for the city is best for the state," Meyer said.

Knight and Riley agreed, adding that they would like to be ready within weeks to announce a development and casino operating partner for their project.

"Timelines are our friend," Knight said. "We're ready."

During the meeting, community representatives were given an opportunity to pitch their locations. All who spoke reporting they are ready and eager to host the newest Missouri casino. Riley, owner of Red Letter Communications, spoke for himself and Knight when he said it is Cape Girardeau's turn to benefit from "the jobs, investment and opportunity from which St. Louis and Kansas City have already benefited."

He touted Cape Girardeau as a business-friendly hub of Southeast Missouri, with strong retail, technology, education and health care sectors. A casino would make Cape Girardeau a regional hub for entertainment that would strengthen efforts at building up downtown.

The economic analysis questionnaire that each prospective casino developer must fill out will include information ranging from the expected investment in land and construction to the number of slot machines and gaming tables to the number of people who will be employed.

That information, McNary said, will be combined with economic analyses provided by existing casinos. It will then be turned over to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, which will analyze the reports and develop models for the effect on communities, employment and state revenue.

"There needs to be a sensible and reasonable process here," McNary said. He also warned them that much of the information they provide will be immediately available to the public because of Missouri's open records law.

The considerations will include whether the casino will add to state revenue or steal customers from existing casinos. The economic analysis done by the Department of Economic Development will be a key factor in deciding that.

"We want to know what proposal would be in the best interest of Missouri, and that is the bottom line," McNary said.

State law, however, doesn't make revenue for the state the only criteria for considering a license. The effect on a community needing jobs is another consideration, McNary said, as is the environmental effect, for good or bad, of a proposal.

Along with the economic analysis, McNary urged community representatives to create partnerships with casino developers. Those partnerships will be important, but not controlling, considerations in the licensing process. Companies that do not win an explicit blessing from a local community may still apply, he said.

McNary said developers proposing ideas unlikely to make a short list of top applications would be discouraged from spending the $50,000 necessary to make a formal application.

After the meeting, Meyer said that if Cape Girardeau hears several proposals that are acceptable, it may endorse more than one idea.

Three companies have expressed an interest in Cape Girardeau -- Arum's St. Louis Capital Partners, Unbridled Entertainment of Mason, Ohio, and a company that has not been identified. Arum told McNary that his company, originally interested in Cape Girardeau and an undisclosed location, will focus all its efforts on winning a license in Cape Girardeau.

The next step in the process will be May 26, when the Missouri Gaming Commission meets for a regular monthly meeting. At that time, McNary said, he expects the deadlines and process to be confirmed and a deadline set for formal applications.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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