Missouri Gaming Commission sets timetable for casino licensing process

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been changed to correct the date of a city council meeting.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Gaming Commission on Wednesday set a Sept. 1 deadline for submitting applications for a casino license available in the state.

The commission, at its regular monthly meeting, approved a three-month window for applications and a timetable for analyzing the economic effect of development ideas. The commission did not address when it might select a city and developer for the casino.

During discussion of the license, commission chairman Jim Mathewson, a former state senator from Sedalia, Mo., said he wanted a speedy process, but not at the expense of being thorough.

"Some of the folks who are interested may think we are pushing it," Mathewson said. "If we are going to fill that 13th license, we need to recognize that the economy being what it is, we need money coming into education."

All taxes on casino profits go to a state fund dedicated to public schools and higher education. Each boat also pays admission taxes for each gambler, money that is split between the state and local governments.

Cape Girardeau and several other cities are vying for the lone casino license available under state law. There are 13 casinos operating in the state, the maximum allowed, but the President Casino in St. Louis must shut down by July 1 when its safety certification from the U.S. Coast Guard expires.

At least three casino companies are considering Cape Girardeau as a site, including St. Louis Capital Partners LLC and Unbridled Entertainment Inc., a company based near Cincinnati. The third company has been quiet about its interest. David Knight and Jim Riley, Cape Girardeau businessmen who are partners in a land enterprise called DREAMBig LLC on North Main Street as a site for a casino, have not said which company they are negotiating with to develop their property.

The city council will hold a special work session at 6:30 p.m. next Thursday at the Osage Community Centre, 1625 N. Kingshighway, to hear ideas from potential developers. It will be the first of several meetings the council will need to choose a development partner, city manager Scott Meyer said while attending the commission meeting.

"The purpose of it is transparency and getting some information out about it," Meyer said of next Wednesday's meeting.

Key dates in the timetable approved by the commission are:

• Tuesday, the first day for formal applications.
• June 15, when market analyses prepared by casino companies currently operating in Missouri are due. Ameristar Casinos, which owns casinos in St. Charles, Mo., and Kansas City, Mo., has already released its study, which shows Cape Girardeau would provide more new revenue to the state than alternative sites in Sugar Creek, Mo., and near Chain of Rocks in St. Louis County.
• July 15, when casino developers interested in obtaining the license must submit detailed economic assessments. The questionnaires must include the total investment, number of gaming seats and expected revenue.
• July 28, when the gaming commission will meet to hear a preliminary economic analysis of each potential development from the Department of Economic Development.
• Aug. 1, when commission staff will tell likely also-rans that it might be a good idea not to spend $50,000 on a formal application. "We will advise some interested parties they are not likely to make the short list," commission executive director Gene McNary said. Some potential parties, he added, "kind of like to test the waters without jumping in headfirst."
• Sept. 1, when formal applications are due.

The commission's first scheduled meeting after applications are due is Sept. 22. The commission intends to create a short list of viable proposals, followed by public hearings in each of the communities under consideration.

How long that will take is unknown, Mathewson said after the meeting. He prefers having at least three of the five commissioners present at each public hearing, but said he would do them alone if necessary.

"All I am committed to is we are going to do it," Mathewson said after the meeting.

During the discussion of the deadlines, Mathewson emphasized two points -- the need to keep gambling tax revenue flowing to public schools and the inexperience of the five commissioners involved, all of whom are new enough to have never considered applications before.

"It is that basic," he said. "We are trying to walk slowly, we want the input from several applicants and we don't want to force it but at the same time we want to move on it."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO

3417 Knipp Drive, Jefferson City, MO