State says decision on casino license will come later this year, likely after Cape Girardeau gambling vote

It appears likely that the Missouri Gaming Commission will not select a community to develop Missouri's 13th casino until after Cape Girardeau voters render a verdict on gambling locally.

The petition by Quality of Life for Cape Girardeau to force a vote on gambling is being checked this week by County Clerk Kara Clark Summers. Organizers are confident they have the 2,635 valid signatures needed to put the measure on the Nov. 2 ballot.

But exactly when the gaming commission will select an applicant to construct the state's next casino is uncertain. The commission has only one scheduled meeting after Nov. 2, on Dec. 1, and at Cape Girardeau's City Council special meeting on casino proposals last week, representatives of one applicant suggested that the selection won't be made until 2011.

Joe Uram, a principal in St. Louis Capital Partners LLC, said Thursday that's what his company was told when representatives met with gaming commission staff last week.

"The license, more likely than not, will be issued in the first quarter of next year," Uram told the council.

But LeAnn McCarthy, spokeswoman for the commission, said in a telephone interview Friday that the commission's goal is to make the selection by the end of the year.

"Our timeline is still on target," she said.

Key deadlines in that process are coming up. On Thursday, serious applicants must submit economic analyses of their proposals to the commission for evaluation by the state Department of Economic Development. The commission meets July 28, and a preliminary report on the economics of proposed casinos is expected at that time.

Commission staff are then supposed to tell companies which proposals have strong enough economic reports that they are likely to make a short list for further consideration.

Actual applications are due by Sept. 1. As of Friday, no applications have been received, McCarthy said.

Once formal applications are received, the commission plans to hold public hearings in each competing community.

St. Louis Capital Partners is competing with Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. to win Cape Girardeau's endorsement as the preferred local applicant. St. Louis Capital Partners wants to put its casino in one of two locations south of Highway 74. Isle of Capri wants to use property along North Main Street at the site of an old shoe factory.

Isle of Capri's status as a company currently operating a casino doesn't give it any advantage in the selection process, McCarthy said. A casino license is not formally issued until the facility is ready to open, she said.

Isle of Capri has the advantage of having its principal officers already licensed while the principals of St. Louis Capital Partners must undergo a thorough investigation. The principals of St. Louis Capital Partners, however, have held such licenses in the past.

Construction can proceed while the investigations are underway, McCarthy said. Construction of a casino typically takes two years or longer after the commission makes a choice, she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO