Attorney General Jay Nixon says the state gaming commission is putting the convenience of a casino company ahead of the commission’s law enforcement responsibilities. The gaming commission says it has to protect the jobs of Aztar casino workers in Caruthersville….So it’s going to run the casino until a new owner can be found, rather than let Aztar close the casino on the 19th. Nixon says the problem lies with the company that wants to buy out the Aztar corporation. He says Columbia Sussex is not licensed in Missouri. In fact, he says, Columbia Sussex has been rejected for licensure in Missouri. And Nixon says that means the commission’s chief enforcement officer, who will be operating the Casino Aztar, will be generating income for a company that cannot be licensed here. Nixon says the plan also means the gaming commission will be producing profits for that very company. And, he says, the commission is putting its top enforcement officer in a situation that seems awkward at best. He says a state employee should not be running a casino. He says “it is difficult to regulate and operate,” and says in a letter to Governor Blunt, that “Gaming Commission employees are the umpires in the state’s gaming industry–not the players or the cheerleaders.” Nixon urges Governor Blunt to withdraw his support from the commission’s actions. Nixon says there are other ways to handle the situation—such as having a court order the casino into a receivership run by an independent party until another, acceptable, buyer is found for it. Gaming commission officials were on their way to Caruthersville and not available for comment when Nixon released his letter.

The state gaming commission is considering whether to let people ban themselves from casinos only temporarily—instead of for life. But the commission is not ready to take that step, yet. People who ban themselves from casinos in Missouri must ban themselves for life. The gaming commission has taken its first look at a series of rules changes that would let them ban themselves for two years. It has decided the proposed changes need more polishing and more thought and has told staff members to come back with revisions. The administrator of the problem gambling program, Melissa Stephens, says the new program offers troubled gamblers opportunities for counseling and corrective action. The individual would have to go through several steps during two years of a temporary personally-imposed ban before deciding on a temporary or permanent ban. She says the intent of the program is not to keep people out of casinos, but to provide them with a program that lets them help themselves and be responsible for their own behavior. Stephens says it’s a major program and the changes being recommended are comprehensive. But she says the commission has decided to move cautiously. She’s not sure when a new proposal will be ready for commissioners.