Cape casino marks first year

Today marks one year since Isle Casino Cape Girardeau opened its doors, and as expected, Cape Girardeau has seen some changes.

More cars, as indicated by recent traffic counts, than in previous years go down an improved Broadway corridor. Many turn and travel up North Main Street under new lighting, installed with some of the casino's millions in revenue to the city.

The 1 million visitors, as promised by casino executives and elected officials during their pitch to have a casino brought to the community in 2010, have indeed come to town, as evidenced by a check of casino admissions.

So have more jobs come to the area. In any given week, about 425 people head to work there -- whether they are leading games on the floor, making drinks behind the bar, counting money or keeping watch on the 137,000-square-foot building. The annual payroll, including benefits, is $13.5 million, according to Jill Alexander, senior director of corporate communications for Isle of Capri Casinos Inc.

Sales-tax receipts for the city, which indicate more business for business, also are rising, including the receipts from meals at restaurants and overnight stays at hotels or motels.

"Are those things directly Isle-related?," said John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. "No. But does it play a part? Yes. There's obviously more business coming to the community and just more activity now in general."

Downtown Cape Girardeau has perhaps been the casino's biggest beneficiary, at least at the local level.

Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape, said although "it is hard to say exclusively that the casino is the reason for certain things anymore, because of so much that's happening [downtown]," most of the improvements seen in the past year were at least influenced by the casino's development just blocks away from downtown.

With a $4.7 million corridor improvement project on Broadway -- partially paid for by the casino -- now finished, more businesses operate downtown than in years past. A result of that project's completion also has resulted in stepped-up efforts to market available downtown space, improving the downtown parking situation and creating new permit programs to encourage development of businesses along the corridor.

But Mills said what the casino has done most for downtown is advance the improvement process in the way it was intended -- only faster.

"The casino hasn't really changed downtown, but it has accelerated change for downtown that was already coming," she said.

Downtown and the city at large -- at least in terms of access to money for improvement projects intended to draw visitors and improve safety and quality of life in the city -- have fared well. The city took in more than $2 million as a result of casino operations from November 2012 until the end of June this year. Another $786,242 has been taken in by the city this fiscal year that began July 1, according to figures provided by the city's finance department.

Revenue coming into the city comes from 10 percent of the total state taxes paid by the casino and half of admission fees. Spending of the casino revenue is determined by the city council. For the first round of revenue, the council spent about $1.6 million on a two-part list that included new playground equipment, a space design study for a new police station, storm warning sirens and landscaping. City officials have said they plan to continue to spend on capital improvements and other one-time expenses with future casino revenue.

But what of business at the casino itself? The admissions, or the number of two-hour increments documented for each visitor, has in the past year stayed strong for months in a row, dropped off, then stabilized before falling again, according to figures by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Last November, the casino's first full month, showed one of the best months with 211,077 admissions. That was behind only behind February, when admissions were 236,154, and March, with 288,867.

Since then, the casino saw a decline in April and May. In June, the numbers reached a low point for the spring and summer when admissions at 154,501. Rebounds were seen in July and in August, when admissions reached 175,697. In September, the most recent month on record, the casino recorded the lowest number of admissions yet, with 144,756. The number of patrons in September, or the number of people who come through the turnstiles, also was the lowest on record so far for the casino, with 70,616.

In June, the casino slightly scaled back its hours of operation "to match business levels," Isle representatives said. No other adjustments have been made to date.

Alexander, by email, commented on business at the casino and the relationship between it and the community.

"While we are pleased with the opening of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, it is taking a bit longer than we expected to reach maximum business levels in this market," Alexander wrote. "The Cape Girardeau community has welcomed us with open arms, and we look forward to a long relationship with the city."

In 2010, company executives talked about a hotel as a possible second phase of development for the casino, but said that would depend on occupancy rates of existing hotels in the area. As of Tuesday, Alexander said, there are "no specific plans at this time" for such a development. Casino representatives previously have said it takes time for a new casino to begin performing at levels expected -- sometimes up to three years for "new properties to hit their stride."

Casino opposition

A long-drawn conclusion about a casino in the city from opponents has been that crime rates would rise as a result.

But so far, the city's police department has seen no evidence of that, said department spokesman Darin Hickey.

"The casino has been and will continue to be a great partner to work with for the police department and the city," he said.

The only difference Hickey said the department has seen in the response by police to the areas near the casino has to do with more people being in the area -- there have been more calls there, for example, for minor traffic collisions -- and does not in any way relate to more criminal activity.

"And there have been crimes reported there, yes," Hickey said, "but there has been no significant incidents tied to the patrons using casino, or to anyone drawn to there for any reason."

The more minor crimes, he said, only have to do with the area being changed to less residential.

"The same thing would happen if you replaced a neighborhood with a mall," he said. "It's just a comparison of two different environments."

Still, with crime rates not reportedly affected, visible improvements to the city and more business for the area, some will never accept the idea of a casino for the community.

Doug Austin, an opponent of the casino during the time leading up to a citywide vote in which Cape Girardeau approved riverboat gambling, remains opposed.

"But this is because my whole objection was based off my religious convictions," Austin said. "I'm not all right with gambling, and haven't been to the casino and won't ever go."

Yet Austin said he is pleased at least with the democratic process that brought the casino issue to the ballot and is proud of the city, he said. When city officials considered support of the development in 2010, none expressed support for a public vote on gambling. Yet Austin and others lead an effort to collect the signatures needed to get the issue before voters.

"The system worked exactly like it was supposed to," he said. "I can at least say that for it."

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address: 777 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO