Missouri judge rejects Cape man's lawsuit against casino measure

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state judge rejected Monday a Cape Girardeau businessman's lawsuit seeking to strip a proposal to revise Missouri's casino laws from the Nov. 4 ballot.

The measure would repeal Missouri's unique law limiting gambling losses to $500 per two-hour period; cap the licensing of new casinos; and raise taxes on existing casinos to direct more money to public education.

In two lawsuits that were eventally consolidated, David Knight, owner of Old Hickory Pits, and Rep. Ray Salva, D-Sugar Creek, joined with gambling critics to argue that the proposal illegally mixed multiple subjects and was unfairly summarized on the ballot.

But Cole County Judge Richard Callahan ruled that the various elements in the measure all relate to the regulation of gambling and its revenues.

"There is some element of 'logrolling' in connection with the combination of such different issues within the proposition as the elimination of loss limits and the capping on the number of 'boats' that may be licensed," Callahan said. "However, the constitutional prohibition on 'logrolling' relates to different subjects, not different issues connected to the same subject. These provisions all relate to gambling revenues."

Reached for comment Monday evening, Knight said Callahan's ruling would be appealed. He said he hopes that the appeal will be put on a fast track for hearing before the Nov. 4 vote.

"I fully expected this to be a jump ball at the circuit court," Knight said. "I knew up front that it was going to the Missouri Supreme Court."

An attorney for those seeking to pull the measure from the ballot had argued the initiative was an attempt to "logroll" voters by getting them to approve the casino provisions because they like some parts, even though they likely oppose others. The casino measure's critics contended that made the initiative unconstitutional and should be stripped off the ballot.

The casino measure will appear on ballots as Proposition A.

Scott Charton, a spokesman for the coalition backing the casino measure, said its critics made arguments that were "false, misleading and meritless."

The challenge to the casino measure was initially filed in August as two separate lawsuits by gambling critics and casino supporters.

Knight and Salva have both tried to get casinos into their communities. Their lawsuit was joined with one filed by two St. Louis area residents backed by the anti-casino group Casino Watch. Evelio Silvera, executive director of Casino Watch, said the group is considering whether to appeal Callahan's decision.

Silvera said the decision isn't wholly unexpected and that the group still believes the casino measure incorporates logrolling and should be rejected.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan was named as a defendant in the case along with State Auditor Susan Montee. That's because the secretary of state's office is charged with writing ballot summaries for initiative petitions, and the state auditor's office must estimate how much they would cost.

Carnahan's office released a written statement after Callahan's ruling, saying the secretary of state's office was confident it had properly following the law in approving the casino measure for the ballot.

The case is David Knight et al. vs. Robin Carnahan, 08AC-CC00665 and 08AC-CC00666