Rockaway riverboat casino resurfaces

The Majestic Star Casino LLC, owned by Detroit businessman Don Barden, was the only company to respond to the Taney County town’s requests for proposal issued in April.

Two years ago, Missouri voters defeated an amendment to the state constitution that would have allowed gambling along the White River in Rockaway Beach. Nearly 56 percent of the state’s 1.5 million voters opposed the amendment.

A majority of voters in Taney, Greene and Christian counties rejected the amendment, which failed at the polls in 106 of Missouri’s 116 counties.

At the time, Rockaway Beach was partnering with Minneapolis-based Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp. to build the $100 million casino complex. Trucking tycoon Robert Low, president and founder of Springfield-based Prime Inc., had signed on to run the casino.

Low sunk more than $12 million into the campaign, according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, but opponents led by Peter Herschend, owner of Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., won out.

Herschend’s company recently released a statement in response to the new casino proposal.

“Very definite and prominent support continues for maintaining Branson’s uniquely one-of-a-kind image – highly respected and famous for its family values,” it read. “Protecting that ‘brand’ is essential to the entire region’s economy and growth.”

The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce has taken a similar stance, said President and CEO Ross Summers.

“We see the expansion of gambling as a detriment to tourism and not an advantage or a draw (for Branson),” Summers said.

“It makes no difference to us who the backer of the Rockaway casino is. Whether it’s Mr. Low or Mr. Barden, the concept and the intent is the same.”

‘Different this time around’

Chuck Walters, head of the Rockaway Beach Gaming Committee, said gambling opponents – many in neighboring Branson – determined to thwart the proposal are in for a surprise.

“If the heavy hitters in Branson want to step up to the plate, they’re going to find out it’s a lot different this time around,” he said. “Barden has the muscle, brains and ability.”

Walters said the company would aggressively defend against attacks that attempt to link gambling to violent crime, drugs and prostitution.

Barden Cos. Vice President Steve Lemberg is Barden’s point person on the Rockaway Beach proposal. Lemberg said the company is prepared to finance a “substantial” part of the campaign to persuade Missouri voters to support the proposed casino development.

“We concluded it was close enough last time and that there are such significant benefits to an economically depressed area that we can prevail on the people of Missouri that it would be in their best interest to vote ‘yes’ on this proposition,” said Lemberg. “We concluded the results of 2004 would not necessarily repeat themselves.”

But Summers at the Branson chamber thinks the odds are against Rockaway’s renewed efforts.

“Mr. Barden needs to look at the record,” he said. “The proponents spent $12 million, and the opponents spent in excess of $2 million. And it lost by 12 percentage points, so he’s got a steep uphill climb.”

Another difference this time is Branson Landing, a $420 million retail shopping development that recently opened in downtown Branson.

Rick Huffman with HCW Development Inc., the company that bought and developed the lakefront property, said the attraction has seen 1 million visits since opening May 26. Huffman said the development company officials don’t feel strongly either way about the casino proposal.

“We (neither) see it as a detriment nor as a great help,” he said. “We’re pretty neutral on it. If it’s built, we may see a few more people, but it doesn’t affect our business plan.”

From cable to casinos

Lemberg described Barden as a “classic entrepreneur” with “good instincts.” In the 1980s, Barden grew a cable TV franchise in Detroit and surrounding suburbs and later sold his share of the company to Comcast for $300 million.

In the early 1990s, Barden entered the casino industry when Indiana approved riverboat gambling on the shore of Lake Michigan.

In 1996, Barden opened the Majestic Star riverboat casino in Gary, Ind., after obtaining a gaming license from the state, Lemberg said. And in December, Barden purchased the adjoining Trump Casino Hotel for $253 million.

The two casinos boast 2,600 slot machines, 58 table games, a 21-table poker room and a 300-room hotel, Lemberg said.

In December 2001, Barden also acquired three Fitzgeralds casinos: Las Vegas; Tunica, Miss., south of Memphis, Tenn.; and Black Hawk, Colo., about 40 miles west of Denver. The company is also one of three seeking a gaming license to open a $410 million, 400,000-square-foot casino on 17 acres in Pittsburgh.

Lemberg said the Fitzgeralds in Tunica – recently renamed The Fitz – is comparable to the proposed Rockaway Beach casino development, which includes a 57,000-square-foot riverboat with 1,383 slots, 41 table games, a buffet-style casual dining restaurant and a parking structure with more than 2,000 spaces. Depending on demand, a hotel could be added.

Barden’s representatives are scheduled to present their casino proposal to the Rockaway Beach Board of Aldermen at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10. At that meeting, the board could decide to move forward with the project and start negotiations with Majestic Star, said an enthusiastic Walters.

“They have a very positive attitude, and I personally believe it’s going to happen this time,” he said.

To put the amendment to a statewide vote in November 2008, casino proponents would have to submit a petition with roughly 145,000 signatures of registered voters to Missouri’s secretary of state by May 4, 2008.

The Rockaway Proposal

• $144 million casino development

• 57,000-square-foot riverboat casino

• 1,383 slots

• 41 table games

• 2,000-space parking deck

• buffet-style restaurant

• 800-900 employees

Plans for the casino development will be presented to the Rockaway Beach Board of Aldermen at the board’s Aug. 10 meeting.

Behind Barden Cos.

Barden Cos. Inc. was ranked 47th in Crain’s Detroit Business list of private companies that brought in the most revenue in 2004. That year, the company – with more than 4,000 employees worldwide – had revenues of $372 million, according to Crain’s.

Based on its 2004 revenue, Barden Cos. Inc. ranked third among the largest black-owned businesses in the Detroit area, according to Crain’s.

Revenue from the company’s five casinos is projected to exceed $500 million this year.