ON RIVERBOAT GAMBLING

The Southeast Missourian, as evidenced continually in this space, is committed to Cape Girardeau's growth and the region's betterment. And if we had a list of choices for industries that might locate here and enhance the local economy, riverboat gambling would not top that list. However, the choice before us and Cape Girardeau voters Tuesday consists of only one entry, not a list: riverboat gambling is the singular question. For the jobs it would produce, for the economic activity it would create and for the sake of allowing the marketplace to function, we endorse the passage of the riverboat gambling question in Tuesday's election.

We arrive at this endorsement after reconsideration of earlier positions on this issue. When riverboat gambling was offered to voters statewide last November, the Southeast Missourian pegged the proposal as a taxation gimmick, one that would convolute citizen understanding of Missouri's real revenue needs. The newspaper also felt the riverboat gambling industry had a shaky early track record, one that left several cities holding the financial bag for unkept promises.

Obviously, what has changed since that question in November is a tangible offer of local investment made by an established organization in the gaming business. While there are certain to be proposals from other casino operators, The Boyd Group of Las Vegas has expressed a desire to locate a riverboat operation in downtown Cape Girardeau that will amount to a total investment of $37.5 million. The organization, assuming it gets subsequent support by city officials for state licensing, seeks nothing that will cost taxpayers: no capital improvements, no infrastructure enhancement, no tax abatements. They want nothing beyond cooperation and the chance to bet on themselves in opening and operating a legal business here.

In return, Cape Girardeau earns the chance to become a tourism stop, to see a million potential riverboat customers annually pass through its streets, to see 800 jobs created on the floating casino (plus perhaps a like number of jobs in support services), as well as seeing its municipal coffers swell. Local public treasuries benefit by gambling revenue sharing mandated by state law ($900,000 a year is projected), a portion of boarding fees ($1 for each boarding, with perhaps a million annual boardings), enriched property values and fuller employment for taxpayers. The Cape Girardeau Public Schools may benefit from $360,000 annually, the result of boosted property assessments, while the Special Downtown Business District will increase its yearly revenues from about $12,000 to more than $50,000. The total projected economic impact on the city is $120 million the first year.

Nothing we've uncovered in our inquiries suggests The Boyd Group is a fly-by-night operation or disingenuous in its claims of community benevolence. The group's Las Vegas properties, as observed by a member of this newspaper staff recently, are clean, well-managed, first-class operations. The Boyds are business people who believe they can expand their business profitably to Cape Girardeau. If they can't make a profit here, the risk is their own.

Unlike other riverboat gambling cities, the investment of The Boyd Group will not be totally on the water. About half of the proposed investment will be land-based (parking facilities, ticket offices, shops, and so on), so The Boyd Group will have considerable incentive to remain in Cape Girardeau even if other river ports beckon.

We believe adequate safeguards are constructed in the state law that governs riverboat gambling. What a "yes" vote on Tuesday does is authorize the city council to recommend a gambling firm and specific plans. The city will negotiate with firms in the gambling business in much the same way any franchise agreement is arrived at. As part of that negotiation, the council can, within certain guidelines, act to ensure the riverboat operation will be operated in a manner that best protects the interests of Cape Girardeau citizens. The Missouri Gaming Commission must then supply the final approval after making additional checks. The industry is new: Why can't Cape Girardeau use the authority at its disposal, in conjunction with a private gambling organization, to set the standard as the best riverboat operation in the nation?

While many arguments have been advanced on both sides of this election issue, certain facts are irrefutable. One is that the Mississippi River runs by Cape Girardeau, and another is that riverboat gambling is now allowed on the Mississippi River. Whether Cape Girardeau voters choose to participate, riverboat gambling will one day be immediately accessible to people in this market, whether in a neighboring city or county, or across the river in Illinois. (Kentucky has no riverboat gambling, yet Metropolis would not have riverboat gambling were it not for a large market across the Ohio River in Paducah.) In those scenarios, Cape Girardeau would find itself without financial benefit and, most importantly, without regulatory control.

We believe the marketplace will ultimately decide whether riverboat gambling can find a permanent home in Cape Girardeau. An affirmative vote Tuesday still means a gambling operation must set up shop here and make enough money, within the framework of the law, to retain an interest in staying. No one will hold a gun to any citizen's head and force them to gamble. If enough people stay away from the riverboat, it will sail away, just as if enough people abstain from alcohol, drinking establishments and liquor stores will close. Commerce is not far removed from democracy.

Since the first of May, this newspaper has published 47 Public Mind letters, Be Our Guest essays and Perspective columns relating to riverboat gambling, in addition to countless Speak Out comments. The debate has been exhilarating and useful, with good points made on both sides of the issue. It restores in us the faith that reasonable people can disagree. The sun will rise Wednesday and, regardless of the vote's outcome, we will live together as a community.

And just as we don't naively accept the grandiose forecasts of proponents, we don't believe crime, prostitution and moral atrophy will automatically accompany riverboat gambling to our community ... if we did believe such a thing, our endorsement on this matter would not be forthcoming.

For the economic opportunity it would bring for the city, its citizens and the region, we support a "yes" vote on Tuesday's riverboat gambling question.