CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Cape Girardeau has waited for 20 years for a casino … and the city is now one step closer to bringing a gaming establishment to its riverfront.
Cape Girardeau city leaders and Isle of Capri Casino executives broke ground Thursday on the $125 million project on the city’s riverfront district.
Officials say that the new casino will generate 450 new jobs.
Isle of Capri’s president and CEO Virginia McDowell says that the casino will attract visitors from a six state region.
“This was probably the best and last underserved market in Missouri. So to us it became very obvious that this was the place to be,” McDowell said.
Cape Girardeau Area MAGNET director Mitch Robinson was clearly elated about the casino. He says that it’s one of the largest economic developments that the city has seen in generations.
“We’ve looked. It’s been well over 40 years since we’ve had anything of this size. $125 million project, 450 jobs. That’s pretty rare in today’s economic climate,” Robinson said.
The next step in the project is to relocate Main Street. The casino is scheduled to open in 2012.
The city’s voters approved a ballot initiative that allowed gaming last November. The community will vote next Tuesday on an initiative that would ban smoking in all indoor workplaces, including casinos.
Jacob McCleland, KRCU
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