SCOTT CITY WILL VIEW GAMBLING PROPOSALS

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Council will waste no time selecting a riverboat operator for the city. It plans to choose between three firms that have expressed an interest in the city by April 25.

At Monday's regular council meeting, Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan announced an open, special meeting of the council at 7 p.m. Thursday, to hear bids from riverboat gambling operators interested in a Scott City site.

Representatives of Lady Luck Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas, Nev., the Royal Casino Group of Calabasas, Calif., and Eagle Gaming Ltd., headquartered in Colorado, will be on hand Thursday to give their best pitches to council members in hopes of winning the city's nod for a gambling license.

Only Lady Luck has submitted a formal plan to the council. The company has proposed at $63.2 million development in Scott City, but the deal was largely contingent on the city's ability to secure a site at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority.

The Royal Casino Group has given the city some ballpark figures as to jobs its facility would create and revenues it was generate.

The council's gambling committee chairman, Ward 2 Councilman John Rogers Jr., called for a closed meeting of the committee following Thursday's session.

Forhan also announced plans to hold a second special meeting of the council on Monday to choose a riverboat operator for the city.

Prior to the riverboat gambling election in Scott City, Forhan promised the city would move quickly in its selection process. He also indicated that securing a site for a riverboat operation would be left largely to the operators themselves.

The mayor traveled to Las Vegas over the weekend to get a first-hand look at Lady Luck's headquarters, but refused to share details of his trip with the Southeast Missourian. Forhan said at the close of Monday's council meeting that he has no intentions of ever discussing city business with the newspaper or its representatives again.

The council has not discussed the annexation of property between the eastern boundary of Scott City and the Mississippi River. Neither has it discussed the failure of a state constitutional amendment, which would have allowed riverboats to have games of chance on board.

In other business Monday, the state Department of Revenue sent the council a letter asking it to give back more than $25,000 that was sent to the city in error.

Forhan said the state erred when evaluating the city's net worth and sent a much bigger check than was warranted.

The council decided to seek documentation from the state proving the money is rightfully in the wrong place, but did little else.

"The money really doesn't belong to us," said City Clerk Nona Walls. "It never did."

Ward 1 Councilwoman Ladonna Phelps added, "Let's just make sure before we pay it back."