SEARCH NEWS:

 

Boonville Businesses Against New Missouri Riverboat

MISSOURI – As reported by the Columbia Daily Tribune: "Business leaders in Boonville say allowing riverboat gambling in southwest Missouri would siphon gamblers from the Isle of Capri casino and hurt the local economy.

"Amendment 1, up for a statewide vote Aug. 3, would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow a riverboat casino to be built along the White River in the town of Rockaway Beach, near Branson.

"Although Boonville and Rockaway Beach are separated by about 200 miles, the Isle of Capri casino receives about 15 buses per month from southwest Missouri, said Reggie Burt, the casino's marketing manager.

" …[David Miller, the executive director of the Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce,] said he thinks those customers would stop coming to Boonville if a casino were built in Rockaway Beach.

"A drop in customers at the Isle of Capri would have consequences for Boonville, Miller said. The Isle of Capri pays the Boonville city government $1 for every patron.

"…Miller has another concern about Amendment 1. He said that if the initiative passes, it will increase the likelihood of future casinos in places such as Lake of the Ozarks that would be more harmful to the Isle of Capri…"

< Gaming News