SCOTT CITY MAYOR VISITS LAS VEGAS

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan and his wife spent five days last week in Las Vegas at the expense of Lady Luck Gaming Corp., one of the companies bidding to get Scott City's endorsement as a riverboat gambling vendor.

Forhan said he accepted Lady Luck's invitation in order to see the company's operation in Las Vegas, to hold a meeting with Lady Luck's president and to talk with employees at the gambling establishment.

In an interview Tuesday with the Southeast Missourian, the mayor said he had acted properly in not spending taxpayer money to fund the trip. He added that the purpose of the trip was to gather information about a prospective new business for Scott City.

"There's no question I would do the same for any business," Forhan said.

Forhan and his wife flew to Las Vegas on Tuesday and returned on Saturday. He said he met with the president of Lady Luck on Wednesday and spent the balance of his trip talking to company employees and "enjoying Las Vegas."

Lady Luck has a casino and hotel in Las Vegas, as well as its corporate headquarters. The company has proposed a $63.2 million development in Scott City. Scott City voters exercised a necessary riverboat gambling measure on April 5, but the town does not abut the Mississippi River.

Other companies vying for Scott City's endorsement are Royal Casino Group of Calabasas, Calif., and Eagle Gaming Ltd. of Colorado.

Forhan, who declined comment on the Las Vegas trip at a Monday night city council meeting, said Tuesday that he is uncertain if any other council members knew of his trip in advance of his departure.

He said he was scheduled to attend a meeting of the town's gambling committee last Tuesday night and then take a late-night flight to Las Vegas. Forhan said he intended to tell council members who make up the committee of the trip that night.

However, the travel agency handling the arrangements booked him on an earlier flight, Forhan said, and he was unable to attend the meeting.

The mayor said he alerted the police department of his planned absence from the community. "Someone must have known I was going," said Forhan, noting that he got a telephone call in his hotel the next morning from one of the competing gambling bidders.

The council will hold a special City Hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday to hear bids from riverboat gambling operators interested in locating in Scott City.

Following the open meeting, there will be a closed session in order for council members to confer with attorneys about the legal aspects of the proposals.

A second special meeting will be held Monday, with the intention of choosing a riverboat operator.