NO MORE FLIRTING WITH LADY LUCK

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Lady Luck is out, Isle of Capri is in, and Scott City is waiting.

The Isle of Capri became one of the 10 largest publicly held gaming companies in the United States earlier this year after acquiring the Lady Luck Gaming Corporation. And along with Lady Luck, it acquired Scott City's hopes of ever having a riverboat casino.

Lady Luck flirted with the city for more than six years, promising $301,228 more in property taxes in its first year of operation and 1,100 new jobs at a $63 million complex to include a riverboat casino visitor center and parking areas at Mississippi River Diversion Channel.

With promises of more money and jobs for communities, little wonder that Scott City, along with Cape Girardeau and Wyatt, jumped at the chance of a riverboat casino in the mid-90s. But plans for all three were put in dry dock due to the Missouri Gaming Commission's on-again, off-again licensing policies and an apparent abundance of gambling operations in the state.

The Isle of Capri, which now owns and operates 13 riverboats, dockside and land-based casinos at twelve locations -- including gaming meccas Biloxi and Tunica, Miss., and Las Vegas -- isn't talking much about construction in Scott City. Instead, it is moving ahead with plans for Kansas City and Boonville, Mo., casinos.

"I haven't heard anything about it," said Rick Campbell, a company spokesperson, referring to plans for Scott City.

But Scott City officials say they've briefly talked with Isle of Capri following the Biloxi company's purchase of Lady Luck.

"We're still very much interested in bringing a casino operation into Scott City," said Mayor Tim Porch. "The people voted for it, and we're ready."

Commission waiting

However, the Missouri Gaming Commission, a five-member group charged with licensing and regulating gambling operations in the state, is not so ready.

"We're waiting to see what happens in Jefferson County," said Kevin Mullally, acting commission chairman. The commission selected Isle of Capri for a Jefferson County casino near Kimmswick, Mo., slated to open in July.

At the same time, the commission announced that it would not issue any additional licenses in the near future. Other operations are under construction at Boonville and LaGrange.

"We'll wait to see how operations at the three new sites go," said Mullally.

But Scott City isn't the only city that rolled the dice and lost. The commission's decision also means Ste. Genevieve County's plans are on hold.

Ste. Genevieve County officials, including Ste. Genevieve Mayor Ralph Beckerman and county economic developer Marvin Harmon, made a pitch to the commission this month for a casino to be located at the Ste. Genevieve Marina along the Mississippi River. The commission hasn't said whether there's a possibility of a license.

No interest

As many as 15 gambling applications are on file with the Missouri Gaming Commission. One of them, more than four years old, is from the small community of Wyatt, located a few miles north of Charleston.

Royal Casino and Wyatt officials signed an agreement in 1996 for a casino to float along the banks of the Mississippi River. Today, officials have little hope for riverboat gambling.

"I don't see much interest in a casino right now," said Mayor Donald Williams.

There has been no interest in Cape Girardeau since Boyd Gaming Corp. closed its office in downtown Cape Girardeau early in 1998, after four years of trying to acquire a permit.

Boyd initiated its quest for a Cape Girardeau gambling operation in January 1993, when the company announced a proposal for a $38.5 million development for the downtown area. That was almost two months after Missouri voters approved riverboat gambling. The Boyd project was delayed when city voters turned down riverboat gambling in April 1993. It wasn't until seven months later, in November 1993, that voters approved a casino riverboat project during a second election.

Boyd upped the ante to a $52.1 million proposal, and, in January 1994, Lady Luck Gaming Corp. tossed its hat in the Cape Girardeau ring. The city selected Boyd to develop its casino in downtown Cape Girardeau but those plans fizzled when the state closed applications.

ROLLING THE DICE

The Missouri Gaming Commission recently approved these transactions:

* The Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. purchased the Hilton Casino in Kansas City, acquired Davis Gaming Boonville Inc. and will construct a casino in Boonville, Mo., and received a license for a casino near Kimmswick, Mo.

* Ameristar Casinos Inc. made a $488 million purchase of Station Casinos' two riverboats in Kansas City and one at St. Charles.

* Harrah's, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., and Players International, based in Atlantic City, N.J., announced a $272 million merger deal in 1999. The merger which gave Harrah's two Players operations in Maryland Heights, Mo., was approved this year.