Casino developer interested in Cape, mayor says

A casino company came calling last week seeking endorsement for a riverboat gambling application for Cape Girardeau, Mayor Jay Knudtson told the city council Monday night.

During a work session before his final regular business meeting leading the council, Knudtson said the company is a well-established casino operator with licenses in six states. The company owns a 34,000-square-foot floating casino four stories tall it wants to dock here before establishing facilities on shore, he said.

Knudtson would not reveal the name of the company.

Cape Girardeau and any other city along the Mississippi or Missouri rivers must file an "expression of interest" by May 1 with the Missouri Gaming Commission. The commission will have one gambling license to award after July 1, when Pinnacle Entertainment closes the President Casino in St. Louis. Any application from a casino company that doesn't have the support of local government is considered unlikely to win the license.

With the press of time, the consensus of the council was that the city should draft a generic letter endorsing the idea of bringing a casino to town without endorsing any particular proposal.

"We do not need to make any decision about gambling out of desperation," Knudtson said.

In a meeting Friday with Knudtson and city manager Scott Meyer, a casino representative said "they were extremely excited about Cape Girardeau as a prospect," Knudtson told the council.

But with the May 1 deadline rapidly approaching and a changeover in city leadership scheduled to begin with Tuesday's election, he wondered aloud if a complete review of the company's ideas for Cape Girardeau can be completed in time. Without such a review, he said, an endorsement "could be something that is difficult to give."

Cape Girardeau voters approved bringing a casino boat to the city in 1993. While extensive work was done at that time, no casino license was granted. Two local businessmen, David Knight and Jim Riley, sought to revive the idea in 2008 but a statewide initiative limiting the number of licenses stopped that effort. They have begun pushing their idea again lately with the opening of a license opportunity but have not announced any casino partnerships.

The developer who met with Knudtson and Meyer said his company does not need the acreage amassed by Knight and Riley along North Main Street, Knudtson said.

Riley declined to comment on Knudtson's report. "We remain optimistic about Cape Girardeau's chances and Cape Girardeau's prospects for the license that is available and are encouraged by any efforts."

Riley said he looked forward to talking with Knudtson and city officials about a Cape Girardeau casino project.

Meyer said he has several questions that must be answered before he would recommend a council endorsement. A detailed plan for the casino, how developers will approach the market and what the city has to gain for its residents are among the questions, he said.

"We will ask that they share with what they are going to share with the gaming commission," Meyer said.

Several council members said they feel rushed by the deadline imposed by the gaming commission. Ward 3 council member Debra Tracy said the 1993 vote was close. "There are probably some groups that, if it is going forward, would will want to bring it to a vote again," she said.

Asked how that could happen, city attorney Eric Cunningham said a petition with signatures from registered voters equal to 15 percent of the votes cast in the last election for governor would be needed to force another vote.

A casino could bring a major investment and traffic to downtown. That makes the project a tough one to turn down, Knudtson said. "We cannot transform downtown without an anchor project that prints money," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO