Isle Casino keeps bringing in money its second year

A second full year in business for Isle Casino Cape Girardeau means money in the pot for local governments.

Since the casino's opening Oct. 30, 2012, the city of Cape Girardeau has been the benefactor of more than $6.3 million, which came from admission and gaming taxes paid by the casino through Sept. 30, according to figures from the Missouri Gaming Commission.

The city's spending has looked different this year than when the city first began receiving the casino-generated revenue -- initially, about $2.2 million was spent on a long list of small capital improvement projects.

Now the city has moved on to using several separate funds -- spending from some, saving in others -- as originally planned when a funding strategy was created in 2012.

In fiscal year 2013-2014, the largest amount spent on a project was to pay for sewer to be run under the new business park being developed along Interstate 55 in the northwestern part of the city.

The second largest amount spent was $460,000, which made a payment on the land for the business park. The city bought the land from Southeast Missouri State University in late 2012 for $6 million. Those expenditures fell under the city's capital improvements category for casino revenue. A first business in the park, a Pepsi customer service center, is expected to open in 2015.

Spending in another fund, the innovation fund, is for items such as technology and training to improve efficiency. An e-ticketing system for the police department, traffic management software, a large format printer, an energy-saving system for the public works department and training used $275,000 from that fund during the fiscal year. Nearly $300,000 also was placed in a legacy fund, which is being saved; while Cape Girardeau County and Jackson and Scott City together each received a portion of $77,000 that went into an adjacent community fund.

Cape Girardeau's city council decides what percentages of the casino revenue will go to which fund as part of the strategy and, once the money is in, how to spend it. An important aspect of spending the casino funds, said Councilman Mark Lanzotti, is they are spent retrospectively. Lanzotti, who has long been a proponent of careful management of casino revenue, praised the council for doing that.

"I'm very excited about how this council has stuck to that funding formula, and has stuck to the basic terms, which is don't spend it until you have it with this casino funding," he said. "That way, if there was an interruption in the operation of the casino, we wouldn't be obligated to pay bills with money that we otherwise wouldn't have."

Numbers now

The number of admissions, along with the amount of gross receipts the casino has, affects how much governments will receive, because the part that goes to the city comes from 10 percent of the total state taxes paid by the casino and half of admission fees.

Adjusted gross receipts at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau rose by more than $10 million from fiscal year 2012-2013 to fiscal year 2013-2014, according to the Missouri Gaming Commission's annual reports. Fiscal year 13-14 was the first full fiscal year of operation for the casino. Adjusted gross receipts in fiscal year 2012-2013 were $45,742,838, while fiscal year 2013-2014 receipts were $57,305,879.

Admissions at the casino, which are defined as the number of two-hour increments for each visitor, stood at 1,652,574 for 2013 and 1,785,228 for 2014, according to gaming commission's annual reports.

Isle Casino Cape Girardeau saw an increase in visitors and revenue during the last fiscal year. (Laura Simon)

So far during this fiscal year, which began July 1, the number of people who came through the turnstiles, also known to the casino as patrons, is up by 12 percent over last year, according to Jill Alexander, senior director of corporate communications for Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., and gaming revenue has risen 8 percent over last year.

Employment also is up at the casino compared to last October, when there were 425 employees. This year, as of Oct. 1, there were 482, according to Alexander.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

777 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO

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Casino-funded projects

Innovation Fund

E-ticketing for police department: $150,000

Traffic management software: $45,000

Large format printer: $20,000

Leadership management training: $48,000

Public works energy saving system: $12,700

Capital Improvement Fund

Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park property payment: $460,000

Business park sewer improvement: $947,000

Legacy Endowment Fund

$297,000

Adjacent Community Fund

Cape Girardeau County: $43,600

City of Jackson: $25,500

City of Scott City: $8,200

Riverfront Matching Fund

$57,000

Source: Missouri Gaming Commission Annual Report