Two rivals−the Oklahoma-based Osage Nation and the investor group Ozark River Gaming & Convention−are seeking to develop a casino at the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In 2021, the Osage Nation submitted a land-trust application to the U.S. Department of the Interior to build a casino near the town of Lake Ozark. If approved, land for the casino would be taken into federal trust and the tribe would retain sovereignty and casino gaming rights. The casino would be operated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and be exempt from most Missouri laws and regulations.
A tribal spokesperson said the tribe wants to reestablish and expand upon its cultural presence and ancestral ties to the region. The tribe already has been preparing the site for the facility, which would include a casino, convention hotel, entertainment complex, and tribal office.
Recently, the Osage Nation hired the lobbying firm Strategic Capital Consulting, headed by former Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley, a close advisor to Governor Mike Parson. Strategic Capital Consulting subsequently contributed $75,000 to a political action committee formed to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow a 14th Missouri casino license.
The investor group Ozark River Gaming & Convention (ORGC) currently is gathering signatures to place the issue on the ballot, with financial backing from Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corporation. Andy Prewitt, an ORGC member, said the petition requires about 173,000 verified signatures by May 5 to make it on the ballot.
In a statement to the Post-Dispatch on March 18, Prewitt said, “We are pleased with the progress of our signature gathering. Our internal metrics have us on track to collect more than enough signatures to turn in on May 5 and we anticipate being on the November 2024 ballot.”
For the amendment to pass, a simple majority of Missouri voters would have to approve changing the state constitution to allow a casino on the Osage River, add a 14th gaming license, and earmark casino tax revenue for teachers’ salaries.
ORGC officials said the group’s and Bally’s polling indicate the amendment would easily pass. The city of Lake Ozark approved the group’s plan in December, calling for a casino, hotel and conference center to operate on a section of the Osage River below the Bagnell Dam. For now, the state constitution only allows casinos either on the Mississippi or Missouri rivers.
