Missouri kicks off casino license competition Tuesday

In 2008, when David Knight and Jim Riley were trying to interest casino companies in their property along North Main Street in Cape Girardeau, none wanted to return their telephone calls.

Now, as the Missouri Gaming Commission gears up to award the first license to become available since a statewide limit was imposed, suitors are lining up for a chance to woo the men who control a large chunk of the land that could be the most logical spot for a local casino.

"We have talked to lots of people," Knight said Friday. "The game has changed considerably, which is good."

The competition could become heated. Three casino developers are talking to city officials, and, as one casino development executive, M. Shawn Cox of Unbridled Entertainment, told the St. Louis Business Journal: "Cape Girardeau is the prettiest girl at the dance."

That means Cape Girardeau has the population base, the location and the profit potential to be the top contender for the sole available license, said Cox, vice president of public affairs for the company from the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Unbridled Entertainment is talking about a 300-room hotel and casino complex for Cape Girardeau.

"A lot of the elements line up to make" Cape Girardeau "a destination city," Cox said Friday.

A 2008 study of potential new gambling sites showed that Cape Girardeau could have the biggest positive effect on state revenue.

Missouri law allows 13 casinos. They must all be within 1,000 feet of the Missouri or Mississippi rivers. One license will become available July 1 when the President Casino in St. Louis closes.

Gaming commission staff will kick off the license competition Tuesday in a meeting with representatives of the 15 parties interested in the license. That list includes four locations -- Louisiana, Mo., St. Louis, Sugar Creek, Mo., and Cape Girardeau -- and 11 private companies or individuals.

Some are local business owners who will need a casino partner, like Knight and Riley. One proposal, listed as "Railroad Casino Train" on the commission's list, involved the letter of interest from someone who thinks they have a good idea but has no ability to pursue it. Virginia Harris of St. Louis wrote the commission to say that putting gambling cars on the end of Amtrak trains crossing Missouri would be a moneymaker.

The commission itself will meet May 26, with many expecting a timeline for applications to be set then.

Along with Unbridled Entertainment -- a company that is pursuing properties in Mississippi but has never built a casino -- the other company publicly interested in Cape Girardeau is St. Louis Capital Partners LLC. That company, composed of former officials with Argosy Gaming, isn't ready to give details of what it would propose for Cape Girardeau, said Joe Uram, chief financial officer for the group.

"It is premature to talk specifics," he said.

Hoping for guidance

What many expect Tuesday, Uram said, is firm guidance. "We are hopeful that we can have the gaming commission define a process with specifics and a timeline so we have an understanding of what the expectations are," he said.

While Uram called Cape Girardeau a "viable market," he said it is not the only place where a casino would be successful and cautioned against anyone thinking a particular proposal or city had an advantage right now.

A third company, which has not been publicly identified, has approached the city about developing a Cape Girardeau casino. Some information released about the unidentified company has led to speculation that it is Isle of Capri, a St. Louis-based operator of casinos in Caruthersville, Mo., Boonville, Mo., and elsewhere. A company spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment.

Three companies -- Isle of Capri, Coastal Capital Management Ltd. of New York, N.Y., and Ingenus of Brainerd, Minn. -- didn't list a specific location. Ken Mimmack of Ingenus said his company will be at the meeting Tuesday to gather information and hasn't settled on where it would like to develop a gambling site. Cape Girardeau is a viable spot, he said. "We want to do what makes the best economic sense. And we haven't completely made that decision yet."

Coastal Capital Management did not return a call seeking comment.

City manager Scott Meyer will attend the meeting Tuesday in Jefferson City, Mo., and has already started planning how the city will evaluate proposals. The most likely course, he said, would be a special meeting of the city council with interested developers to talk in general terms about a vision for development. That would be followed by more formal meetings to discuss specific proposals.

"We are just beginning to gather some information," Meyer said.

Knight, the owner of Old Hickory Pits, and Riley, owner of Red Letter Communications, are most interested in a good partnership with a strong company than necessarily insisting that their property, which includes the old shoe factory site, is the only one that should be considered.

"Our hope is we can be a good partner in that endeavor and do everything we can to achieve that goal," Knight said.

The high level of interest in Cape Girardeau is very satisfying, Meyer said.

"It is a good position to be in," Meyer said. "Other people are just finding out what the rest of us have known for a long time -- the prettiest girl at the dance was always this pretty. There are just a few more people noticing."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO

St. Louis, MO

Louisiana, MO

Sugar Creek, MO

Jefferson City, MO