Dorena casino idea divides Mississippi Co.

Generally calm Mississippi County is seeing some action -- at least some heated discussion -- over an issue that has residents taking sides.

A developer from Tennessee is eyeing some Mississippi River shoreline for a $300 million casino development. He sees an amusement park, a golf course, a hotel, an airplane runway, shops and a cable car that would carry visitors over the river from Kentucky.

These are certainly heady plans for an area whose largest industry is a state prison near Interstate 55.

Some residents, and members of the East Prairie Board of Aldermen, think the proposal is just the ticket to lift a depressed area out of its economic funk. Mississippi County's unemployment rate is at 8.1 percent, well over the state average of 4.7 percent. One in every five residents lives in poverty.

The casino development, supporters say, would provide good jobs to people eager to work them. It would bring tourists who wouldn't just spend money gambling, but at other restaurants and shops along the way, supporters say.

But there's another side whose opinions could be even stronger. The Mississippi County Commission is dead set against a casino. Commissioners and others who oppose the project say they would rather find another way out of the area's financial troubles.

People who gamble are those who least can afford to lose the money, they say. And God hates greed.

The truth is, any person arguing for or against the project is probably wasting time, breath and energy.

Everything is against this project.

The developer is Ricky Smith of Union City, Tenn. Nobody around Mississippi County knows much about him. His biggest projects to date have been $60 million in IRS warehouses.

The project is slated to go in somewhere near Dorena. Few people have heard of Dorena, except for the small number of motorists who use the ferry that travels between there and Hickman, Ky.

Gambling at Dorena would mean driving down Interstate 55, taking the East Prairie exit and then going another 15 miles past East Prairie.

The Missouri Gaming Commission won't consider authorizing a casino license without a vote of the people, and the county commission would have to call for that vote. That's not likely because commissioners are strongly opposed to the project.

Finally, even if the people of Mississippi County voted to support the project, it's unlikely the gaming commission would move Smith's plan to the top of a long list of casino proposals. The ones in Southeast Missouri alone include Ste. Genevieve, Kimmswick and Scott City. Meanwhile, the gaming commission believes the market is oversaturated.

If Smith can produce investors willing to put up $300 million, maybe his casino will be worth discussing. In the meantime, there are plenty of places for area high rollers to part with their money within a two-hour drive.