MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI VOTERS PREPARE FOR CASINOS BATTLE

A battle is brewing over whether slot machines in Missouri should be allowed on riverboat casinos that sit in artificial basins off the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Voters will decide that question on Nov. 3. Eleven of the state's 16 riverboat casinos operate "boats in moats."

In other states, there's a bigger battle brewing: abolishing casino gambling. In Mississippi, where the first casino opened in April 1991, a move is under way to do away with 29 of the state's 30 gambling casinos. The only remaining casino operates on an Indian reservation.

Missouri's casinos have waged a battle to continue to operate. In early July, representatives of Missourians for Fairness and Jobs filed more than 200,000 signatures on the riverboat casino issue.

Secretary of State Bekki Cook certified 146,016 signatures, which far exceeds the 114,053 needed. However, allegations of fraud required Cook to conduct an "extensive investigation" before certifying the petitions.

Among those heading the campaign for approval of the casino issue is the Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association, an industry organization of statewide casino operators headquartered in St. Louis.

The gambling group says casinos have paid more than $184 million in gaming taxes and admission fees this year and have created more than 13,000 jobs, generating more than $700 million a year in new economic developments.

Yet there is mounting opposition at the grass-roots level. The Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist minister from Hanover, Ill., and executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, and Mark Anderson of Show Me the River have launched campaigns against the measure. Both have met with groups around the state to explain how local groups can help defeat a ballot issue aimed at legalizing slot machines on boats in moats.

Grey is also involved in the campaign to eliminate gambling in Mississippi. His organization has mounted anti-gambling campaigns in several states.

But a vote to eliminate gambling in Mississippi won't come this year, said Warren Strain, of the Mississippi Gambling Commission's public information center.

A coalition of conservative Christians heads the drive for an initiative referendum to abolish gambling. Groups are busy, obtaining the more than 100,000 signatures -- 20,000 from the five congressional districts -- needed to get the amendment placed on the ballot. The amendment could have been on this year's ballot, but courts rejected some wording on the petition.

Gambling in Mississippi is big business, representing $3 billion in investments and an estimated $600 million in annual payrolls to more than 34,000 employees.

Proponents of gambling point to improved education, highways and employment opportunities from gambling. Ten years ago, Mississippi was one the "poorest" states. Today, it has raised its education standards and quality of classrooms. More money is available for social services, educational programs, hospitals, and the highway system is much improved.