Isle of Capri's Cape Girardeau casino cruising toward Nov. 1 opening

By Melissa Miller

With its scheduled opening nearing, construction is progressing and employees are starting work at Isle of Capri's Cape Girardeau casino.

"We're on target to open our flagship Isle property by Nov. 1 and are beginning the process of installing slot machines on the casino floor," Isle President and CEO Virginia McDowell said during a conference call with financial analysts in August. "Isle Cape Girardeau will be both an impressive and important addition both to our portfolio and the city of Cape Girardeau."

Isle received more than 7,000 resumes for the approximately 450 positions it is working to fill before it opens.

More than 50 different positions, ranging from management to dealers and groundskeepers to restaurant servers, are advertised as available on the company's website.

About 60 people were selected to participate in a dealer school where they are learning table games such as blackjack, craps and roulette. After completing the unpaid training, those individuals will have the opportunity to audition to become dealers at Isle Cape Girardeau.

When it opens, Isle Cape Girardeau will have 28 table games in addition to 1,000 slot machines, three restaurants, a skydeck lounge overlooking the river and a 750-seat event center.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said the number of resumes Isle has received indicates it is viewed as a place a lot of people would like to work.

"We knew they would be a substantial employer immediately. The second thing we hoped was that once they went down this road that it would generate additional interest from outside the community. That is happening," Mehner said.

The chamber has been contacted by businesses in several sectors who are now interested in investing in Cape Girardeau, including housing, retail and service-related entities, Mehner said.