LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: THIS IS AN ECONOMIC ISSUE

To the Editor:

First of all, I do not think the people who are against riverboat gambling are a bunch of "Bible-thumping hypocrites" who do not want to see Cape Girardeau change or grow. I also do not believe that the people from the Yes Group are anti-Christians who want to sell out Cape and turn it into the next Sodom and Gomorrah. These types of attitudes should not determine an issue that is so vital to our community.

This is first and foremost an economic issue that will have a positive impact on every man, woman and child in this town.

First, there is the creation of 800 new jobs by the boat. While I think this is wonderful for those people who are interested in new jobs, this is only the "tip of the iceberg" in total job creation for Cape Girardeau.

Because of the boat, there will be a million new visitors to our community. These visitors will spend anywhere from $37 million to $120 million every year. This is money that will be spent away from the boat. They will rent our motel rooms, eat at our restaurants and shop at our retail outlets. This will create additional jobs in the motel, restaurant and retail industries.

Because of the additional spending, there will be additional sales-tax revenue generated for the running of our city government. This will create more employment opportunities.

That additional sales-tax revenue generated from outside visitors, could be used to hire more policemen and maybe help eradicate our community of drugs and drug dealers. The additional revenue could be used to hire more firemen to improve our fire protection, more sanitation workers to improve our trash collection and more construction workers to improve our city's streets.

Finally, there is the boat itself. The Boyd Group wants to spend $38 million for a development in the downtown area. One half of that money will be spent for the refurbishing and construction of the boat. The other half will be spent on a land-based operation that will blend with our downtown area and provide more parking and more shops. That construction will provide more jobs for local contractors, bricklayers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, drywallers, etc.

The fact that the Boyd Group wants to make that type of investment in our community, practically guarantees that they won't leave our town after a couple of years and abandon a $20 million land-based investment. The Boyd Group wants to have a positive economic impact in our community and be a partner in its growth.

This is an economic issue. It has more far-reaching effects than just 800 new jobs and saving the downtown merchants. Passage of this issue will create more jobs throughout our community and provide additional city revenue to improve our quality of life.

Gregory Williams

Cape Girardeau