CASINO MARKET IN MISSOURI MAY BE NEAR SATURATION POINT

It appears there may be some limits on gambling in Missouri after all. In a year in which casino operators will be pushing hard to remove the loss limit for gamblers on Missouri's riverboats (this effort likely will succeed), there is growing evidence that casino markets have about tapped out.

Last week's announcement that Boyd Gaming Corp. will close its office in Cape Girardeau didn't come as much of a surprise to local gambling observers. Although Boyd has a contract with the city to develop a riverboat casino complex, the company has never filed an application for a license with the Missouri Gaming Commission. Of course, the commission has imposed its own moratorium on granting new licenses, which is why an application from Lady Luck to operate a casino at Scott City hasn't progressed very far.

When gambling was authorized by Missouri voters, there were several conditions in place: Riverboats would be required to cruise on the Missouri or Mississippi rivers; gamblers would be restricted to the amount of time they could spend on the riverboat; each gambler would be limited to a maximum loss of $500 per casino visit.

Since then, of course, the gaming commission has decided on its own to go other directions. The riverboat at Caruthersville is the only one still allowed to cruise -- but only in favorable weather, which means it often is full of gamblers while still docked. And serious gamblers have found it is pretty easy to get around both the time and loss limits.

Proponents of raising the loss limit argue that Missouri casinos should operate on an equal footing with those in adjoining state. Perhaps, then, they would be willing to operate only while cruising on the river, as riverboats with higher loss limits are required to do in Illinois.

Both officials of Boyd Gaming and the city say they are optimistic about a $50 million-plus casino development in Cape Girardeau, but when that might happen is a question no one can answer right now. It could be that the experience of casinos elsewhere in Missouri will be the biggest factor of all. Some of the casinos, including Boyd Gaming's operation in Kansas City, aren't doing as well as they had hoped. This, in turn, is fueling the gaming commission's decision not to review any new applications.