A plan to limit the number of casinos in Missouri draws opposition from a company that could become the odd one out.

Wild Rose Entertainment of Des Moines wants to put a casino at Sugar Creek. But if the legislature passes this year’s proposal to get rid of loss limits, Wild Rose will be shut out. That’s because the bill limits the number of casinos in Missouri to 13. The state already has a dozen and one coming along in Lemay. The Sugar Creek casino would be number 14, meaning it wouldn’t be at all.

The proposal angers lobbyist John Britton, who represents Wild Rose. He has told a Senate committee no casino has ever come into Missouri with any agreement it would face no competition.

Britton also rails against a provision that says if one of the 13 boats goes out of business, the only new casino that would be allowed would be in the same place as the one that failed. Britton, who sometimes quotes great philosophers when he speaks to legislative committees, says neither Aristotle nor Francis Bacon would understand the logic behind that kind that idea.

Britton was one of the key lobbyists who got casino gambling through the legislature 15 years ago. He says lawmakers rejected repeated licensing limits then.

 

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