GAMING: ISSUE GIVEN NOD AT MOST ELECTIONS

If Cape Girardeau voters are like other Missourians, odds are they'll approve riverboat gambling Tuesday.

Not only did more than 60 percent of Missourians support riverboat gambling on the Nov. 3 ballot as Proposition A the issue has passed in a majority of those cities and counties that have voted on gambling locally.

Thirteen cities and counties have approved riverboat gambling, including Buchanon and Jefferson counties, and the cities of St. Louis, Maryland Heights, Ste. Genevieve, Parkville, St. Charles, Jefferson City, St. Joseph, Kansas City, North Kansas City, Sugar Creek and Riverside.

The St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights first rejected the measure, but passed it on a second ballot in April.

But the riverboat issue didn't float everywhere. Voters in New Haven, in Franklin County near St. Louis, defeated the local option Nov. 3 by a 167-289 vote. And in Hermann, about 25 miles east of Jefferson City on the banks of the Missouri, the local option failed on a 275-287 vote. Voters in the historic hamlet of Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi north of St. Louis, defeated a similar local measure by a 3,470-3,156 vote.

Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville are the next cities to roll the dice on riverboat gambling, with voters in both towns facing ballot measures Tuesday.

In two of the cities where the issue failed, city officials said that, unlike in Cape Girardeau, the campaign was mostly lackluster. The exception was Hannibal.

Carolyn E. Scheer, city clerk at New Haven, a town of about 1,700 people in Franklin County 60 miles from St. Louis, said the issue was placed on the April ballot at the request of a local businessman. "It was really quiet before the election," Scheer said. "Nobody really went out and pushed it or fought it."

Hermann, another small town, also had little buildup before voters rejected riverboat gambling in April.

In Hannibal, though, the campaign became spirited. City Clerk Carol McGee said Capt. Robert Lumpp, owner of Mark Twain Riverboat, which features dinner and site-seeing cruises, put up more than $5,000 to put the issue on the ballot.

After it was on the ballot, McGee said, some of the local churches became involved. "They hollered pretty loud," she said. "Then some of the businesses downtown next to the river got involved in support of it."

A Citizens Against Riverboat Gambling organization was formed primarily by local religious leaders. After the close vote, leaders of the organization said they were thankful they were able to convince a sufficient number of voters that riverboat gambling was a bad bet for Hannibal.

The day after the vote the Hannibal Courier Post reported that the Rev. Cardis Bryan of the Fifth Street Baptist Church was relieved to have the vote behind the city.

"From the indicators from across the state, this should have been a cakewalk for gambling," Bryan said of the Hannibal vote. "The fact that Hannibal did organize early was important.

"The fact that it was defeated in Hannibal lets us see what happens when concerned citizens stand together."

The newspaper reported that George Walley, president of the board of the Hannibal Chamber of Commerce, said the outcome of the vote there would increase tourism competition between Hannibal and those cities that passed the measure.

"The tour operators told us they would like to have that extra bit of entertainment," Walley said. "I just hope they won't reroute themselves to St. Louis on the way to Branson to pick up a night of gambling."

Unlike Maryland Heights where, after voters rejected the local measure in November, the campaign waged anew prior to passage in April Hannibal, Hermann and New Haven remain quiet.

"We had a city election since, and it wasn't mentioned," said McGee of Hannibal. "We've got another one in November, and I haven't picked up on whether it's going to come back."

Scheer said New Haven has only a single municipal election annually, so if riverboat gambling is brought back, it won't be soon.