WITH NOVEMBER VOTE, CASINOS STAYING TUNED TO NEXT EPISODE

Promus Co., developer of a St. Louis-area riverboat casino, has stopped work there.

Players International Inc. has put plans on hold in the Maryland Heights area of St. Louis.

Hilton Hotel Corp.'s plans for a floating gambling casino in Kansas City offers a scaled-down gambling plan.

Boyd Gaming Group is taking a cautious look at two Missouri sites: along the Mississippi River in downtown Cape Girardeau and along the Missouri River at Kansas City. And the casino crowd is keeping tuned for the next episode of the Missouri riverboat casino story.

There are currently four gambling boats in Missouri -- at St. Louis, St. Charles, Riverside near Kansas City, and St. Joseph -- and each can offer only so-called games of skill such as blackjack and poker.

The Missouri Supreme Court says the constitution must be changed before games of chance such as slot machines are legal on riverboats on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Voters approved the general notion of floating casinos in 1992, but during an April election this year voters turned down a constitutional amendment change that would have allowed slot machines on the riverboats.

Representatives of Missouri's casino industry hope to change that in November. Initiative petitions with some 300,000 signatures are being checked by the respective counties. If the petitions are certified, voters will vote again in November on a constitutional amendment legalizing slot machines.

"We'll know by Sept. 12," said a spokesperson from the secretary of state's office.

Boyd Gaming, which has been selected to develop a riverboat gambling operation at Cape Girardeau, and Players International, which operates a riverboat gambling boat at Metropolis, Ill., are keeping close watch on happenings in Missouri.

"We like the Cape Girardeau area," said Charles L. Ruthe, president of Boyd Gaming. "We have visited there many times, and it is an area where we feel comfortable."

Ruthe said last week that Boyd was looking at all of Missouri.

"We need to look at the outcome of the upcoming election before we make definitive plans," he said. "We're high on Missouri."

All of the current plans, however, were based on a full plate of gambling and could change without the November vote, said Ruthe. "We're still moving forward, but we are being very cautious."

Ruthe indicated that Boyd Gaming would be very visible in Missouri during the election campaign.

Boyd has a considerable investment at Cape Girardeau, where it has purchased several tracts of property and has options on others.

Players is blunt about its plans.

"We're in neutral now," said Duke Rohlffs, vice president of corporate development for Players. "If the slot issue passes in November, we'll be in Maryland Heights; if not, we'll go on down the river."

Meanwhile, in Cape Girardeau, Downtown Sinclair Service Station has completed its move from 212 N. Main to 740 Broadway.

The downtown service station operation was sold to Boyd Gaming Corp. for development of its riverboat gambling operation. Downtown Sinclair moved to 740 Broadway last month.

"We won't be selling gasoline there, but we will do auto repairs and inspections," said Pat Hume, manager of the station.

Downtown Sinclair removed the gasoline pumps from the old North Main station, but the in-ground tanks will be removed later by Boyd Gaming.