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Commission Clears Isle of Capri for Construction

Posted on December 7th, 2010

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Just last week Wednesday, the Missouri Gaming Commission awarded the State’s 13th casino license to Isle of Capri which offered it’s bid at $125 million. The proposed casino will be located at Cape Girardeau. Supporters expressed their approval of the Commission’s decision statting that a casino in the area would be a necessary help in the revitalization of the local economy.

The license was available since this year’s summer when a casino in St. Louis ceased its operations. President Casino had begun operating sixteen years ago and was put out of business by rising floodwater despite plans to reopen and reaquire their license. Since then, a number of applicants submitted their bids and proposals for the recently available casino license. Among the winner, Isle of Capri, were Casino Celebrations and Paragon Gaming. Casino Celebrations submitted their proposal which consists of a $132 million casino to be built in St Louis while Paragon Gaming’s consisted of a gambling facility in Sugar Creek that would be worh $107 million.

The vote came unchallenged and without any discussion at all. The vote, however, does not come with it the awarding of the last casino license. It only clears Isle of Capri to commence construction on their proposed facility. Until the facility is ready to start its operations, state gambling regulators will not award the license. This, however, does not mean that the license in question is still up for grabs. It simply means that it is reserved for Isle of Capri, available only to them once the construction finishes. In the event that the company is not able to follow through with their plans, then the license will once again be up for grabs.

Paul Keller, the chief development officer for Isle of Capri, though, is confident that nothing will stand in his company’s plans. He said that construction will start as soon as possible and he predicts that it will be finished within 2 years’ time. The projected casino will be able to generate up too 500 jobs. For Cape Girardeau, with a population barely reaching forty thousand, this is a welcome asset. The casino will be located in the downtown area among already established restaurants, shops and bars. Keller believes that the area is an untapped resource in terms of casino clientele. He said, “We saw Cape Girardeau as really the only unfilled market in the state,”. “We felt that if we could combine the best market left with an operator who’s got a lot of Missouri experience, that’s a pretty tough combination to beat.”, he continues to say. Fueling Isle of Capri’s confidence is the fact that residents, during the latest elections, voted for allowing a casino to be built in the area. The company believes that 61% of the voters who voted for the initiative is a significant number.

On the other side of the coin, however, opponents of the casino initiative during the elections have expressed their disappointment with the news. One of those who organized the anti-casino movement, Doug Austin, said “My heart is absolutely broken. I cried this morning, but that’s over,”. Doug Austin is one of the residents of Cape Girardeau who were vocal about their opposition to the gaming board’s decision.

The Gaming Commision’s decision was prompted largely by an impact study conducted in each place where the casinos were to be constructed. The same study concluded that Cape Giraredeau was the best choice because the two other areas—St. Louis and Sugar Creek—simply do not benefit as much from a new casino as Cape Giraredeau. The study continued to say that St. Louis and Sugar Creek will benefit more from established casinos in their area, therefore it would be pertinent to favor the casino proposal for Cape Giraredeau.

Despite the Gaming Commision’s decision though, proponents and suporters of the losing bids still expressed dissenting opinions. Particularly vocal about their disappointment are supporters of the St. Louis casino propsal by Casino Celebrations. The main contention this group forwards is that a casino in St. Louis would open up a lot of much-needed employment for locals. They believe that the Gaming Commision should have included employment as a factor in their decision.