MISSISSIPPI RIVERBOAT GAMBLING INDUSTRY MARKS ANNIVERSARY

The roll of the dice and luck of the draw has proven a revenue boon for Iowa in its first year of Mississippi riverboat gambling and state officials said Tuesday they are confident increased competition from Illinois and other states will not have a significant impact.

Wednesday marks the first anniversary of riverboat gambling on the Mississippi River. To celebrate the occasion, Quad Cities officials will proclaim the area the Riverboat Capital of the World.

"Dignitaries will be meeting on Centennial Bridge on the Mississippi. The three Quad Cities boats will come down at that point. They will toot their horns, maybe play 'Happy Birthday' on their Calliopes," said Connie Smith, spokeswoman for the President riverboat, which docks in Davenport.

Michael Blaser, a Quad Cities artist whose specialty is paintings of old steamboats, has been commissioned by the Riverboat Development Authority to do oil painting. He'll sketch from a houseboat and turn that into a painting.

"No other city offers three riverboat casinos. When someone drives three hours, they're not limited to one experience. They can spend whole weekend going from one boat to another," Smith said. "Most people who gamble like to try different casinos. We think by having three gaming experiences to chose from will be a real benefit to Quad Cities."

Riverboat gambling started with three boats plying the Mississippi from docks in Davenport, Bettendorf and Dubuque, Iowa. Since then, boats have begun running from Clinton and Fort Madison-Keokuk, Iowa, and more recently from Alton and Rock Island, Ill. Another boat is sailing the Illinois River from East Peoria, Ill.

Iowa has no plans to add boats this year but operations are scheduled to start later this year at Joliet, Ill., on the Des Plaines River.

Despite Iowa's success, the Wisconsin Assembly Democratic caucus earlier this month rejected a budget amendment that would have allowed riverboat casinos. Rep. John Medinger, D-La Crosse, the most vocal proponent of riverboat gambling in Wisconsin, concedes riverboat gambling is dead in Wisconsin because by the time lawmakers can again consider it, other states will be too far ahead for Wisconsin to compete.

Missouri voters will decide in November whether to allow riverboat gambling. The Legislature decided last year to give voters a chance to have their say.

To date, Iowa has collected some $14 million in revenue from gambling operations, $7.5 million coming from the President alone.

Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Mort Friedman said Illinois' three floating casinos have been an unqualified success since they began operations, raking in more than $9.2 million in revenues in less than eight months.

Illinois' three gaming boats - including the Casino Rock Island, which has been open less than a month - have earned $6.5 million in tax money for the state and $2.6 million for local governments.

"They've been more successful than anyone thought," Friedman said.

Before Illinois lawmakers legalized waterway wagering, experts had estimated the state would earn $3 million to $15 million annually in floating casino revenue.

The success of riverboat gambling in Iowa has far outstripped projections.

"For Fiscal 1992 through March 22, we had projected attendance of 1. 7 million on all five boats and our actual attendance to date has been 2.1 million," said Chuck Patton, director of riverboat gambling for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

"We have projected $52 million in adjusted gross revenues; actual has been $65.5 million. To understand these projections you need to understand our first three months we went with boat operators' projections and they were so low we went and did our own projections based on what we were running in May 1991. Even at that level, it continues to grow."

Patton said increased competition from Illinois is expected to keep second-year revenues flat but also said there is room for both the Iowa- style riverboat experience and the no-limit wagering offered across the river.

"There is a difference in the kind of person we compete for," Patton said. "Illinois is clearly going for gaming revenue. Their boats are dedicated 100 percent for gaming.

"Iowa is competing for families interested in gambling as part of a total vacation package. Only 30 pct of our boat can be dedicated to gaming. An entertainment center must be provided for minors. On that basis, we're going to lose the people who want strictly to gamble. We'll continue to get those people who have families and want to do things whole family can enjoy. There's room for both of us here."

Iowa limits losses to $200 per cruise while there is no limit on losses on Illinois boats.

Patton said a proposed casino gambling complex under consideration for Chicago probably would reduce the number of people who head to the Quad Cities to gamble.

"I don't think that would take all of our Chicago business."

"The riverboat experience is more than just the gambling," he said. "While there may be land-based entertainment (included in the Chicago proposal), there's land-based entertainment in other places. People will still want to come on the riverboats. Iowa had a good business for riverboats before gaming existed and there always will continue to be."

The 27,000-square-foot President, which carries 1,500 people per cruise on weekends during the cruising season, has collected twice the revenue of its closest competitor, Patton said, and the Mississippi Belle II, which docks at Clinton, is 70 percent above passenger load projections.

Smith said the President loaded its millionth passenger Feb. 18, two months ahead of projections.

"I guess what surprised us is what the dockside season (Nov. 1 through March 30) really started to take off," Smith said. "We didn't know what to expect."

Smith said when the weather first changed in November, the number of people flocking to the President dropped sharply. In response, she said the President redirected its marketing to people living within a 100- mile radius and it paid off.

"People in the Midwest are a little hesitant to travel by car. They might fly to Florida but they are hesitant to drive great distances in winter," Smith said.

Illinois' most popular boat has been the Par-a-Dice in East Peoria, which has averaged 3,044 passengers per day since it opened for business in November. The most profitable boat has been Illinois' first floating casino, the Alton Belle, which holds fewer gamblers but makes more money per passenger.

Friedman said the Alton Belle's per-passenger take is $57, compared with $46 for the Par-a-Dice and $59 for the state's newest entry, the Casino Rock Island.

The Casino Rock Island began cruising Mar. 14. It was the first Illinois boat to compete head-to-head against Iowa's gaming fleet and already has had an effect, Friedman said.

"One Iowa boat has eliminated its $5 parking fee, so that indicates there is some sensitivity (to competition)," he said.

A Joliet-based gambling boat could be operated on the Des Plaines River south of Chicago by this summer, while a rejected applicant's legal appeals have tied up licensing for a boat the Gaming Board authorized for East St. Louis.