Representatives of The Boyd Group, a gaming and resort company based in Las Vegas, said Monday they would consider establishing an operation in Cape Girardeau if city voters approved a local initiative to allow riverboat gambling.

Voters will decide June 8 the fate of riverboat gambling.

"Our company has taken only a cursory look at this community," acknowledged Robert L. Boughner, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Boyd Group. But if the local option were approved, Boughner said the company would take a close look at the feasibility of operating a boat here.

Such a study would include a market survey, locations for a place to dock, and factors such as parking lots, motels and the availability of employees.

"Certainly we would be prepared, and other operators would likely come in to look at it," said Boughner. "But I don't think you will get too many serious lookers until the community has spoken."

Members of the Boyd family are friends with Cape Girardeau businessman Martin Hecht. Members of the family visited the city last year to meet with some community leaders and discuss the possibility of operating a boat here. In November, Missouri voters approved riverboat gambling in the state. But cities or counties must pass the local option for a boat to be docked in their area.

Hecht hosted a meeting Monday morning for about two dozen people to meet with Boughner and Alex Mooring, who is involved in site development for the Boyd Group.

The Boyd Group was formed in 1973 and presently is the largest private gaming company in Nevada and among the top 10 largest gaming companies - public or private - in the nation.

The Boyd family operates the California Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas; Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall southeast of Las Vegas; the Fremont Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas; and the Stardust Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

In all, the Boyd organization has approximately 7,000 employees with over 3,700 hotel rooms, 22 restaurants, six lounges, one showroom and 70,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

Mooring pointed out that the company does not have any riverboat gambling operations in the country at this time, but has developed proposals in Louisiana and Mississippi.

From Cape Girardeau, Mooring and Boughner were going to Kansas City to make a presentation to city officials there.

"We're not saying we are going to make a proposal in Cape Girardeau, but we would, if it is the sentiment of the community, to explore the potential here," said Boughner. "Riverboat gambling is a burgeoning industry."

One of the concerns raised at the meeting was whether the city would be obligated to make a major investment to attract a riverboat, only to have the developer leave town later to make more money elsewhere. Several cities in Iowa had that problem.

But Boughner said any proposal the Boyd organization would make would not include a large commitment from the city.

"If we can afford to go into business, we just do what anybody else would do. It would not be our intention where we ask the city to put us into business," observed Boughner.

Hecht said he believes riverboat gambling could be a good boost to the downtown area and the city of Cape as a whole. He pointed out that since riverboat gambling was only approved in November, if Cape Girardeau wants to at least be considered, it needs to get the issue before voters as quickly as possible.

Hecht and the representatives of the Boyd organization downplayed stereotypes that gambling would lead to organized crime or threaten the family structure of the community.

"Las Vegas has all the things other communities in America have," noted Boughner. "What I have seen is a community that has prospered, not one filled with organized crime. Gaming is a form of entertainment and that entertainment is a form of tourism."

Boughner also stressed that the gaming industry is highly regulated, which is essential to making it successful. "Without winners there are no players," he noted.

He added that people who visit Las Vegas are from all walks of life and represent a good cross section of the country.

Mooring said riverboat gambling could really be viewed as a jobs initiative, and stressed that it stimulates all areas of the economy.

"It will be a great thing for downtown, but an even greater thing for Cape Girardeau," said Hecht. "We've grown up in Cape hearing about taking advantage of our Mississippi River, and this is an opportunity to do that."

Hecht said the Boyd family is well respected in Nevada and would be an asset to this community. "They are a wonderful, charitable family; great civic people," said Hecht. "They are truly interested in coming here and if they come here, they would be here to stay and want to be part of the community."