RIVERBOAT STRINGS

Another step toward the development of a riverboat gambling casino in Cape Girardeau has been taken with the reaching of an agreement between the city and Boyd Gaming Corp., the casino developer previously selected to operate here.

It has taken a while to put together the pact, the time appears to have been well spent. The city's expectations regarding street, sewer and other improvements to accommodate the influx of visitors -- if and when the riverboat opens -- are clearly spelled out.

And several on-going community organizations will benefit financially under the agreement. For example, the Greater Cape Girardeau Historical Association would get $25,000 a year for five years from Boyd once the casino is operating. The Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation, which plans to develop the old St. Vincent's Seminary site just south of downtown, would get a $500,000 donation for that project. And both the city and the school district would get annual contributions as well.

Even though the agreement is likely to be approved both by Boyd and the city -- the city council gave unanimous backing on the first go-around -- there are still many hurdles left before a riverboat actually is docked in Cape Girardeau.

The biggest of these, of course, is the Missouri Gaming Commission's moratorium on reviewing new license applications. Last June the commission said it would wait a year to 18 months before processing any more riverboat applications along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Caruthersville. Boyd officials expect the earliest the commission is likely to start reviewing applications again is May, but it could be no sooner than November.

Whatever the timetable, the city's pact with Boyd is specific about how quickly the project will move once the gaming commission ends its moratorium. Boyd would be required to submit its application within 60 days -- or tell the city it is no longer interested in putting a riverboat here.

Even with all the agreement's provisions, there is still no ironclad pact that says a riverboat operation will become a reality, at least with Boyd as the operator. Not only does the gambling company have the right to opt out of the contract if it decides the project just isn't financially feasible, but the contract only give Boyd a five-year window for its exclusivity with the city. After that, city officials could look at other gambling companies if it wanted to.

Given the snags and pitfall of pacts made between cities and gambling companies elsewhere in Missouri, it looks as if Cape Girardeau has put together a solid plan that protects the best interests of the city as a whole.