PORT VIEWS RIVERBOAT AS ITS TICKET

SCOTT CITY -- Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority commissioners, who have been struggling for months to find ways to raise money for port improvements, believe they may have found the ticket they have been looking for.

Last summer port officials began talking with several companies interested in leasing land around the port for a riverboat gaming development. Initially, Promus, a Memphis-based company with casinos in Las Vegas, expressed an interest and convinced the Scott County Commission to put the local option before voters Tuesday.

But Promus, which has several major gaming developments under way, abruptly skipped a meeting where a lease agreement was to have been finalized. The company contended the market in the area would be saturated with gaming boats.

Casino Magic entered the picture, and this month signed an agreement with the port authority to lease about 25 acres. Scott County voters, therefore, will decide Tuesday whether to permit riverboat gaming at the port.

Port commissioners decided to treat Casino Magic the same way it would any other tenant: Instead of focusing on pros and cons of gambling, they viewed the company from an economic development perspective. The promise of a first-year, $30-million investment, 800 jobs and a $20-million payroll made the company an attractive prospect.

"Commissioners in Scott County are being asked why they would support a boat at the port, and the answer is real simple: It's economic development," said Morty Potashnick of Sikeston, a port commissioner. "The reason the board unanimously passed a resolution supporting it and an option for them to lease is that it will bring in so much money to the port that we have not found anywhere else. We can use that funding to create more industrial sites and expand the port."

A four-year sales tax in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties generated about $7 million and enabled the port to match state and federal funds to complete the first phase of development that included a harbor, dock, waterlines, road, a rail spur and other facilities.

Several small industries have located at the port, other industries in the area are moving products through the port, and there are dozens of prospects being courted. But none of the prospects are offering what Casino Magic could bring to the port.

"It will bring 800 jobs, and the revenue we would derive from having a boat down there would enable us to complete the infrastructure that we need," explained Mysie Keene of Jackson, chairman of the board. "The revenue we get will not only allow us to complete our infrastructure, but also to expand and offer more services to industries that would locate at the port.

"It is at this point one of the better things that could happen to the port; it will allow us to go forward," said Keene.

Said Potashnick: "The port is really standing on its own now. Revenue generated for the port authority is pretty much on an even keel with the expenditures operationally of the port. What we have done so far is put the port up and running so it is not a burden to taxpayers anymore. But we really don't have a way to fund the expansion of it."

Another port commissioner, Bill Bess of Sikeston, agreed that Casino Magic is the kind of tenant that would move development of the port to a higher level.

"We looked at Casino Magic as a tenant, just as we would anyone else coming in," said Bess. "We anticipate funds we earn will be used exclusively for the port, and that money will be used to promote the port and new industry."

Some concerns have been raised that a gaming operation would interfere with the port's mission to recruit industry and provide jobs for the area. But Port Executive Director Dan Overbey said state statutes that allowed the formation of ports in Missouri say a goal is not only to promote industrial development but recreation along the rivers.

He said the proposed Casino Magic development would not interfere with future industrial growth. "There would be no conflict at all," said Overbey. "There are a number of places, like Greenville, Miss., and Vicksburg, Miss., for example, where gambling boats are surrounded by industry."

Potashnick said he has seen successful gaming developments next to industries where barges are being unloaded.

Keene said: "It is common to have these developments together in other places and it does not seem to present any problems. We need to work things out carefully and pay attention to details."

Potashnick and Overbey pointed out that Casino Magic plans to extend the 1,800-foot slackwater harbor by 600 feet, which means its development would be on the end of the port, away from most industry. The side of the extended harbor, across from where the company has its land leased, can be used for other industry, they said.

Some of the developments planned by Casino Magic could also be used by other industries, said Overbey. This includes roads, a sewage system, and other utilities.

Overbey said he does not believe industrial traffic would conflict with the traffic generated by the gaming boat, especially after the extension of Nash Road into the port authority is completed in 1995.

"It will probably add a little traffic in what are now non-peak times coming through Scott City, particularly until Nash Road is finished, said Overbey. "But we feel like there will be a good road network serving the entire port development."

Port authority commissioners at the board's October meeting unanimously approved a resolution to earmark all revenues it earns from the gaming development for capital improvements.

The lease agreement with Casino Magic guarantees a payment of $250,000 a year, but could increase, based on the company's success. Scott County would also receive tax revenues of 2 percent of the gaming proceeds and a $1-per-person boarding fee.

Port commissioners anticipate at least a portion of that revenue would be distributed to the port by the county commission.

Overbey said the port authority board is aware of concerns that riverboat gaming might be a fad.

"It has occurred to the board that this is still a fast-growing, fast-moving industry," Oberbey said. "We hope if things come to pass that they, like any tenant, will be here for many years. On the other hand, if they are not here at some point, we will be sitting here with a real nicely filled industrial site along an extended harbor. These are real valuable improvements for us," said Overbey.

The kind of development proposed by Casino Magic, and the revenue it provides to the port, would also enable the port authority to set a higher standard for development, Overbey said.

He said: "Having that level of commercial venture sets a little higher standard in terms of development itself. It can help us move from gravel streets to paved streets, with better landscaping and layout. A number of the folks on our board would like to see us make that transition; to not just be a reliable riverport but to be a cut above the others and more like ports in large cities.

"We hope to reach a point where we are more attractive to Fortune 500 companies and set our sights on high-quality development."