At Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, a local investor group has been pushing for a change in state law to allow casinos at this popular tourist area. A recent change in state gambling laws, Senate bill 26, comes close to fulfilling the group’s dream—but not close enough, yet.
Current law defines an “excursion gambling boat” as a boat, ferry or other floating facility. The new law modifies that definition to include non-floating facilities, which are defined as any structure within 1,000 feet of the Missouri or Mississippi rivers that contains at least 2,000 gallons of water beneath or inside the facility. The act also modifies current law to allow non-floating facilities to be licensed, not just excursion gambling boats. At the moment the state’s 13 casino licenses are all taken.
The hang-up for the Lake of the Ozarks group is the requirement that a casino be on the Missouri or Mississippi rivers. A spokesman for the group said the new law is not necessarily a negative, since it was pushed by another group promoting a river location for a casino other than the Missouri and Mississippi.
The original idea of quaint cruising riverboat casinos didn’t last long. Today Missouri huge casino complexes are set on or near the banks of those two rivers. For example, the $110 million Isle of Capri in Kansas City was built in 1996 on a small lake about 400 feet from the Missouri River, created specifically for floating the casino.
