LITTLE RIVER, LADY LUCK CONTRACT NEAR

SCOTT CITY -- A contract between Little River Drainage District and Lady Luck Gaming Corp. that would allow a gambling boat to be moored in the district's Diversion Channel in Scott City appears assured.

Larry Dowdy of Cape Girardeau, executive vice president of the drainage district, expects the contract to be signed with Lady Luck of Las Vegas within two to three weeks.

There remains, however, a question on whether a gambling boat can operate in the Diversion Channel. The Missouri Gaming Commission would decide that matter after Lady Luck submits a gambling-license application.

The drainage district board of directors reviewed a proposed contract at its monthly meeting Tuesday. The district's board is in unanimous agreement to proceed with final details of the contract, Dowdy said.

"There is some language in the contract that still needs to be lined out," Dowdy said. He said he doesn't view the details as a stumbling block to the contract.

One of the details involves the length of the contract and its options for extensions. Lady Luck has proposed a five-year initial agreement with renewal options for seven more five-year leases.

Another consideration is what Lady Luck may leave in the channel should the company leave the channel.

"We want to make sure the district's and the public's interests are covered," Dowdy said.

The district's attorney will review wording over the weekend, Dowdy said. The lawyer is then expected to meet next week with the district chairman, E.B. Gee of Blytheville, Ark.

Gee and the attorney are expected to talk to Lady Luck officials next week to finish the details, Dowdy said. He said Gee plans to call a special board meeting to sign the final contract, probably within two weeks.

Money for the lease to moor a gambling boat in the channel has been virtually agreed to by both parties, Dowdy said.

The contract calls for a minimum annual payment by Lady Luck to the district of $200,000. Based on projected revenues for a gambling boat, the annual payment is expected to be between $400,000 and $500,000, Dowdy said.

The lease payment is tied to the boat's gross revenues, Dowdy said. "If the boat does well, we will do well," he said.

"We will pass the savings on to the landowners in the district," Dowdy said. "It will be substantial."

He estimated at least a 25 percent decrease in the tax rate for the district. Landowners are currently taxed at the rate of $2.50 per acre for property within the district.

The total budget for the district is approximately $1 million per year, Dowdy said. An additional half-million dollars in revenues will be significant to the district, he said.

Last spring Scott City gave Lady Luck a contract to operate a gambling boat here.

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan said the contract is another step in the process of Lady Luck obtaining a gambling license for a gambling boat.

"We're approaching an exciting time for Scott City," Forhan said. "We would like things to happen more quickly, but everything has to take its natural course."

Lady Luck has proposed a three-phase, $65.3 million project in Scott City, which would include a gambling boat, hotel, entertainment center, an outlet mall, 18-hole golf course, athletic complex with tennis courts and a community center and library.

The company has projected that it can have the gambling boat and parking areas off Nash Road near Interstate 55 completed within six months of the Missouri Gaming Commission's awarding a license. Lady Luck expects the entire project to be completed within two and one-half to three years.

Lady Luck has projected 750 new jobs will come with the riverboat. When the entire complex is completed, more than 1,100 new jobs are estimated.