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Isle of Capri Lures Gamblers to Moats

"So this spring, the Isle of Capri Casino at Boonville is stocking its seven-foot-deep moat -- filled amid fanfare from a city fire hydrant -- with algae-gobbling catfish and grass carp.

"`We want to keep the moat looking clear and clean,' casino spokeswoman Traci Stiles says. A clean moat would better complement the neon-and-pastel color scheme at Isle of Capri, where the Caribbean `Isle Style' design concept was modified to add fake riverboat smokestacks and bulging sides evoking paddlewheels.

"…Court cases and costly elections to revise the Missouri Constitution have moved casinos physically away from the big rivers and symbolically far from Mark Twain-style nostalgia.

"`All you need now is a big swimming pool to float your boat,' said Kevin Mullally, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, which regulates and licenses the floating casinos. `But it's well within the law -- even if there is a disconnect between reality and what voters think they voted for.'

"…At Boonville, Isle of Capri's casino barge rests in a 446-foot-by-160-foot basin with a 300,000-gallon capacity. The facility's gift shop, three restaurants and administrative offices are in a two-story land-based building, sort of a cabana for the big pool.

"There is no visible gangplank; wall-to-wall carpeting splashed with a colorful palm-leaf pattern makes it all look seamless, although the weight of a capacity crowd of just over 2,000 aboard the gambling barge can mean a sharp step down upon entry…"

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