SCOTT CITY VOTERS FAVOR RIVERBOAT GAMBLING ISSUE

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City voters gave their city council the green light to move ahead with the annexation process and casino proposals when they approved riverboat gambling at the polls Tuesday.

But the city's gambling future might hinge on the results of Tuesday's statewide initiative.

If riverboat gambling is approved statewide, local opponents plan to throw a road block in the city's path, declaring the election was based on an outdated statute and is unconstitutional.

With more than 53 percent of Scott City's registered voters turning out for Tuesday's election, the gambling issue passed by a margin of 728 in favor to 652 against.

"I'm so excited," said Shirley Young, former mayor of Scott City and now president of the city's chamber of commerce. For the past couple of weeks, Young has led a pro-gambling movement in the city.

"We're talking about economic development here," she said. "Our youth are leaving the city looking for work, people are building homes elsewhere and spending their money in other cities.

"We need this kind of economic development right here in Scott City," Young added.

But development may have to take a back seat to a lawsuit opponents of riverboat gambling in Scott City plan to file in the near future.

The Rev. Leland Holland, one of the leading opponents of gambling in the city, said that members of his group have been contacted by an attorney who believes the election should be contested.

"The election was held under the old statute, which to my understanding is unconstitutional," Holland said. "If that is so, we will demand another election. If this issue is on the ballot again, we'll be out in force to defeat it."

But the Scott City Council may have been aware of the election's volatile nature several weeks before Tuesday's vote. City Attorney Frank Siebert advised Mayor Larry Forhan and the council in early February that state officials warned that Scott City would most likely have to vote twice on the issue.

The letter cited information gathered by Siebert from the secretary of state and the attorney general, which said that cities not contiguous with a river would have to vote at least twice. The second vote would include residents in the land annexed between the city and the Mississippi River.

Officials told Siebert that the state legislature would have to clear some "gray areas" in the gambling laws before a final decision could be made.

Forhan refused to talk to the Southeast Missourian Tuesday.

A majority of Scott City residents were content with the victory late Tuesday. H.M. "Bud" Baker, who beat incumbent Terry Johnston for the Ward 4 council seat, was glad to see the issue pass.

"I think the gambling companies looking at Scott City will do what they say they will," Bader said. "When you're talking about the amount of money they are willing to spend and the jobs the boat would create, you're talking about putting Scott City back on the map."

Three gambling companies have expressed an interest in working with Scott City to set up riverboat operations.

Tuesday night, Jon Elliott, president and chief executive officer of the Royal Casino Group Inc. of Calabasas, Calif. -- one of the three operators interested in Scott City, said he was pleased with the city's decision.

"Now the emphasis is on (the operators)," said Elliott. "It is up to us to submit proposals to the city and for us to turn our promises into a reality."

Elliott said that gambling boats in Scott City and Cape Girardeau should work to complement each other, not compete.

"If we truly want to be successful, we have to draw people into this area and encourage them to visit two boats," said Elliott. "When you go to Las Vegas, you don't just go to one casino, you go to several. That is how riverboat gambling should work, too."