Lemay is chosen as site for casino 
By Martin Van Der Werf 
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 10 2004 

Lemay, the working-class community just south of St. Louis, has missed out on 
nearly every bit of good economic fortune to hit the region. Now, it might be 
about to get its share. 

Twenty-seven years after a factory that made paint pigments closed in Lemay, 
its 80-acre site could become home to one of the biggest private investments in 
the history of St. Louis County. 

A county selection committee on Tuesday chose Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. to 
build a casino there. A casino has been pushed before at the former National 
Lead factory site. Other ideas have included an RV park and a center for 
loading and unloading trains. 

But nothing ever happened, so even a development as controversial as a casino 
has led some residents and officials to throw down a welcome mat. 

"We spend the least of any school district in the county per pupil," 
said Ed Stewart, superintendent of the Hancock Place School District in Lemay. 
Almost 70 percent of his students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. 
The casino project would add another $1 million or so in tax collections per 
year. 

"I am supporting that project," Stewart said. "It's more than a casino." 

Pinnacle still needs county and state approval, both of which are significant 
hurdles, before it proceeds with plans to build an outlet shopping mall, a 
bowling alley and a movie theater at the site, as well as the casino and a 
100-room hotel. 

The Las Vegas-based company also plans to build a park of at least 25 acres on 
the site, although that could be expanded to 45 acres because of requests by 
the Great Rivers Greenway, the regional park system. 

Pinnacle won St. Louis's casino derby, too, picked to develop a casino at 
Laclede's Landing, and it was considered the heavy favorite to be chosen by the 
county. Pinnacle had said that if it was not chosen by the county, it might 
abandon the city project unless it could get assurances that the Missouri 
Gaming Commission would not license another casino in South County for at least 
seven years. 

The other bidder, Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., had hoped to build a $300 million 
casino just south of Interstate 255 at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. 

Denny Coleman, president and chief executive of the St. Louis County Economic 
Council and chairman of the selection committee, called the Isle proposal "very 
competitive." 

But Pinnacle "provided the best economic opportunity for an area of the county 
- Lemay - that needs investment very dearly," he said. 

Among other things, Pinnacle is proposing to build a four-lane road just south 
of River des Peres from Interstate 55 to the casino site. The company also has 
committed to building an aquatic center and athletic fields. 

Pinnacle's original plan was to build those facilities next to the casino. 
After hearing citizens testify against gambling last week at a public hearing, 
Coleman said, the selection committee realized attractions for children should 
not be adjacent to a casino. 

He said the county would work with Pinnacle to find a more suitable location. 

Pinnacle's bid also was helped by the fact that its financial situation is 
improving. It raised $120 million in a stock sale that was completed last week. 

Several anti-gambling groups are still fighting the casino plan. Local 
opposition was a factor in 2001 when the Gaming Commission chose a site in 
Jefferson County rather than a casino proposed by Ameristar for Lemay. 

Harold Hendrick, a Baptist minister from Florrisant who represents Clergy 
Against Gambling Expansion, said county and state officials needed to give more 
consideration to "the losses to other businesses, the drain of Missouri money 
to out-of-state casino owners, the financial devastation which results from 
uncontrolled addictive gambling . . . and the thousands of Missouri youth being 
drawn into compulsive gambling habits." 

The county expects to take about 60 days to work out a development agreement 
with Pinnacle for the Lemay site. 

The proposal still must be approved by the St. Louis County Council and would 
need to be licensed by the Gaming Commission. 

Daniel Lee, chairman and chief executive of Pinnacle, said he believed that the 
casino in the city could open in 2006 and the one in the county in 2007. 

Pinnacle's plans

Location: St. Louis County in Lemay, immediately south of the St. 
Louis city limit. 
Site size: 80 acres. 
Cost: $300 million. 

Casino size: 90,000 square feet, 3,000 slot machines, 60 table 
games. 
Hotel: 100 rooms, five stories. 
Parking: 5,200 spaces on four levels and surface lots. 


Reporter Martin Van Der Werf 
E-mail: mvanderwerf@post-dispatch.com 
Phone: 314-727-6234  
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