SCOTT CITY POISED TO SIGN CONTRACT WITH LADY LUCK

SCOTT CITY -- Negotiations between Scott City and Lady Luck Gaming Corp. are nearing completion as a July 18 operating agreement deadline looms.

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan, who has sat in on the negotiations between the city its chosen riverboat gambling operator for the past 45 days, won't reveal the site for the proposed riverboat casino, but is confident an agreement will be reached.

"It's really very exciting," Forhan said of the riverboat gambling proposal. "Any time you look at the number of jobs this kind of project will generate and the economic benefits it would bring to the region, you can't help but be excited by it all."

Lady Luck has promised more than 1,100 jobs with its casino proposal. "That alone could have a tremendous impact on the area," Forhan said.

Scott City chose Lady Luck as its riverboat gambling operator in April after weighing proposals from two companies.

Lady Luck's package included two plans -- a riverboat casino and dock at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, and an optional site on the Diversion Channel near Rhodes Travel Center on Nash Road. Either site would cost the company more than $63 million.

But port authority board members objected to Lady Luck's plan for a casino at the port, and Tom Irwin, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission said state law won't allow a riverboat casino on the Diversion Channel.

Lady Luck is seeking a declaratory judgment on whether the channel is considered part of the Mississippi River, where riverboat gambling is allowed.

Despite questions regarding an appropriate site for the facility, City Attorney Frank Siebert doesn't see any reason why a contract between Lady Luck and the city won't be signed by the deadline.

"What we're doing now is getting Lady Luck's proposal in a legal document that is enforceable, binding Lady Luck to its word," Siebert said. "We are including a time commitment to the city by Lady Luck and penalties they must pay if the company leaves before that time.

"We're getting it all down in black and white to protect the interests of both them and us," he said.

The council's gambling committee first expected the contract to be signed 30 days after Lady Luck got the city's nod. But at the June 20 meeting of the council, the committee asked that the deadline be extended until the July 18 city council meeting.

"I'm sure we're going to have something ready at the next city council meeting," said Forhan. "That's how close we are. We want to get a boat in the water as soon as possible."