A Missouri House committee recently held a hearing on House Joint Resolution 23, which would allow a voter referendum on a constitutional amendment authorizing the Missouri Gaming Commission to grant a gaming license for a casino on the Osage River.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Jeff Knight, said according to projections, a casino in the Lake of the Ozarks area could net $100 million in annual revenue. Currently, the state’s casinos are taxed at 25 percent, meaning the state would receive $25 million annually.
Dennis Newberry, mayor of Lake Ozark, population 2,000, located on the Osage River, said the city needs $25 million, which it doesn’t have, for capital improvement projects. He blames the lack of local taxpayers and no “meaningful reinvestment” in the city’s hospitality industry for several decades. However, he said the $2.5 million Lake Ozark would receive in casino tax revenue would deliver “many opportunities” for the city.
Lake Ozark Alderman Krista Watts said at a recent state municipal league convention, the only four representatives who said they were not struggling to generate revenue were from casino host cities. Watts said since Lake Ozarks has a seasonal economy, a casino would benefit the area by creating more year-round jobs.
The Osage Nation also wants to develop a casino in Lake Ozark. Kimberly Pearson, chief executive officer at the Osage Nation Gaming Enterprise Board, said the tribe has purchased and begun clearing acreage in Lake Ozark. Pearson said there’s opposition to an Osage casino in Lake Ozark because it would not have to pay taxes; that could potentially give it an advantage over another state-licensed casino. However, she noted the Osage would make up for paying no taxes through charitable donations to the community.
Former Lake Ozark state Rep. Rocky Miller, who is Native American, said the claim that the Osage casino would take away from community resources was “insulting.” He said he opposed Knight’s bill because it would include gambling license provisions in the state constitution.
Also at the hearing, several Lake of the Ozarks-area residents testified against the bill over concerns about a casino bringing crime. However, Kansas City-area state Reps. Josh Hurlbert and Jamie Johnson said they felt the three existing Kansas City-area casinos have not caused crime to increase in their districts.
