Is Isle eying a casino in Cape? With the impending closure of the President Casino, speculation grows regarding who will capture their coveted license. While several parties have already made known their interest in the license, a long awaited player may have come to the table. Oddly silent on the issue and saying only that they were “looking at a variety of opportunities in a variety of markets,” the Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. may be working with the city of Cape Girardeau to develop Missouri’s newest casino.
The relationship is unconfirmed, but recent events indicate that the possibility is more than likely. Last Friday, City Manager Scott Meyer said that he has prepared a general letter of interest in gambling for the city. Previously, Mayor Jay Knudtson confirmed that he’d met with an unnamed casino company, describing them as “a well-established casino operator with licenses in six states” based in the St. Louis area. Coincidentally, Isle of Capri’s corporate headquarters are in Creve Coeur and they operate casinos in six states.
Several other developers and locations are also possible contenders for the license. More recently, North County approved a zoning change that would allow a casino to be built near the Columbia Riverbottom conservation area (a decision that was unpopular with residents of nearby Spanish Lake and then president of Pinnacle Entertainment, Dan Lee). Additionally, interest has been expressed in building another casino in Sugar Creek, Mo, close to the Kansas City market that already has 4 casinos on the Missouri side of the river and another one in Kansas. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has publicly expressed his hopes that the new casino will fall within city limits to replace the more than 200 jobs and $2 million in tax revenue that will be lost when the President Casino closes.
The actual bidding process has not yet been announced and interested parties have until May 1 to submit letters to the Missouri Gaming Commission. After that, it will be interesting to see who antes up and where the chips fall.
Tags: cape girardeau, casino, gambling, isle of capri, Missouri, president casino
May 5, 2010 at 1:00 pm |
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May 6, 2010 at 9:43 am |
[...] has publicly stated that they are investigating several options in several areas. The company has allegedly been in discussions with Cape Girardeau concerning a location [...]