Pinnacle in, Harrah’s out of St. Louis competition

Jim Suhr

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 9:07 a.m.

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis County selection committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas to build a casino in the county, calling the plan's absence of a companion site in St. Louis city "a significant concern."

The St. Louis County Gaming Selection Committee said it would take until Feb. 10 to review proposals from the other finalists, Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. of Biloxi, Miss., and Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas, each pitching development sites in the city and county.

A St. Louis city selection committee was expected to weigh in with its own decision today, with the Missouri Gaming Commission ultimately having final say about any new casino licenses.

St. Louis and St. Louis County have decided to pursue casinos together to help each other get better proposals. But the county committee has decided it no longer would consider the revenue-sharing because the proposed casinos appear fiscally sound, said Laura Reeb, spokeswoman for the St. Louis County Economic Council, which announced Wednesday's decision.

"In our extensive examination of the proposals from these developers, we determined that both the Isle of Capri and Pinnacle proposals were strong enough to stand on their own," said Denny Coleman, the county selection committee's chairman.

"In each case, the development in the city and the development in the county would be financially sound, and support from the other entity would be unnecessary," added Coleman, the county economic council's president and chief executive.

In delaying its decision, the county committee said it would use the extra time to further scrutinize the remaining proposals and assess the state gaming commission's reaction to the city's gaming determination.

The committee said it plans to make its recommendation to the St. Louis County Port Authority at that agency's board meeting Feb. 10. Though the port authority could reject the recommendation, its endorsement would move the matter on to the St. Louis County Council for consideration.

Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson said that Las Vegas-based company was "obviously disappointed" by Wednesday's announcement. He deferred additional comment until he reviewed the county committee's rationale for rejecting Harrah's proposal.

Harrah's Entertainment and Isle of Capri each pitched separate casinos south of the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, in south St. Louis County. Pinnacle Entertainment proposed a St. Louis County site in Lemay, south of the River des Peres.

Last September, St. Louis city and county officials asked for the proposals, believing state gaming regulators were more likely to approve a two-boat, city-county project from the same company than a single, county-only casino. Gaming officials have expressed concern that a new casino in south St. Louis County would hurt revenue at a downtown casino.