Missouri state Rep. Ron Hicks filed House Joint Resolution 127, which would amend the state constitution to allow excursion gambling boats on or near the Osage River between Bagnell Dam and its confluence with the Missouri River. Voters would have to approve adding another gambling license in the state, the 14th, specifically for that location.
Currently, Missouri casinos only may be built on or near the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, left over from when the state first legalized casino gambling on excursion riverboats. The state constitution still prohibits any casinos from being developed outside those two major rivers.
A local investor group, Osage River Gaming, has been working for years to change Missouri law to allow a Lake of the Ozarks casino. The group issued a statement: “Osage River Gaming worked with Rep. Hicks and others on behalf of a larger coalition of Lake of the Ozarks area businesses that support a level tax and regulatory playing field for all Missouri businesses.
Passage of HJR 127 will have a significant positive economic impact on the Lake area economy. A state regulated casino on the Osage River below the dam will provide at least 700 (mostly local) jobs during the construction phase and as many permanent jobs once operations commence. Ancillary businesses in the Lake area will also benefit greatly from the increased customer traffic and economic activity.
The facility will generate at least $100 million of new net revenue annually to the Lake area economy and $26 million in state and local tax revenue. HJR 127 is a win-win for the lake area economy and has strong support from the Lake area business community.”
In addition, late last year, Osage Casinos, which operates casinos for the Osage Nation, announced it had purchased land at Lake of the Ozarks and planned to build a $60 million casino hotel there. The Osage Nation, being a sovereign nation, is not subject to Missouri’s casino restrictions. Tribal officials said construction will begin on the casino once it receives approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
