GAMBLING IN MISSOURI IS LOOKING MORE LIKE LAS VEGAS

When Missouri voters approved slot machines and other games of chance on riverboat casinos, they made a significant change in the state's Constitution, which already had been drastically altered -- with voter approval -- to allow gambling in the state.

Since then, however, even more critical and far-reaching gambling decisions have been made not by voters, but by the Missouri Gaming Commission and judges. These decisions have, in many cases, left voters scratching their heads.

The latest decision by a judge pertains to gambling riverboats that are essentially moored off either the Missouri or Mississippi rivers, even though many Missourians believed gambling was going to be limited to riverboats traveling up and down those rivers. Judge Thomas J. Brown of Cole County has dismissed a challenge to the "boat in a moat" law, saying the law was already on the books when voters had their last say in November 1994.

The judge's decision hinges on a law allowing casino boats to dock in "any artificial space filled by the waters of those rivers" and within 1,000 feet of the channels of the Missouri or Mississippi. This means that casino developers are essentially permitted to dig a pond near one of the rivers, fill it with river water and build a non-moving casino that may or may not even be shaped like a boat.

Although opponents of gambling who challenged the law say they will appeal, it is likely this same test will apply to the riverboat casino envisioned for Scott City. Plans call for putting that boat on the Diversion Channel. The questions that will confront gambling regulators is whether or not water in the Diversion Channel is Mississippi River water and whether or not the boat is within 1,000 feet of the main river channel.

But the larger question for Missouri voters is how many more times they will watch Missouri's gambling operations turn from cruising riverboat operations to land-based, Las Vegas-style hotel-casinos that are somewhere near one of the state's two major rivers.

Some voters are likely to favor reclaiming control over gambling questions at the ballot box. They may want another vote, now that the gambling landscape is a bit clearer. With only a couple of exceptions, voters around the nation last month turned down gambling propositions.