One Nevada developer in, another out of casino project

KANSAS CITY STAR

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Gaming Commission was told Wednesday that St. Jo Frontier Casino owner William M. Grace has purchased 50 percent of a proposed casino near Hannibal, Mo., that could open next year.

Grace, principal owner of the St. Joseph casino, is now an equal partner with Ward Sauvage and his Las Vegas-based Sauvage Gas Co. in a small riverboat casino planned for LaGrange, Mo., near Hannibal.

Sauvage said Nevada developer Dean Phillips Inc. dropped out of the deal that has been stalled since the commission granted preliminary approval in May 1997.

The $15 million project would draw customers mainly from Hannibal; Quincy, Ill.; and Keokuk, Iowa, Grace said. The off-river facility would include a restaurant, a lounge, shops and a casino floor with 450 slot machines and 14 table games.

Grace said a market study indicated that the casino would gross about $25 million a year, including $16 million from Illinois and Iowa customers. He compared it to his St. Jo Frontier, which grosses about $20 million a year from a similar market area.

Grace also is nearing completion of his Lakeside Casino & Resort south of Des Moines, Iowa. That $50 million project off Interstate 35 will include a 60-room hotel, conference center, restaurants and a floating casino that will cruise West Lake near Osceola, Iowa.

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