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Health & Fitness

SUCCESSFUL CASINO COMMUNITIES V - Mayors at gaming forum say casino didn't bring crime to their towns, boosted economy

Boonville Mayor Julie Thacher called her town's casino an "asset," while Alton Mayor Tom Hoechst called his town's casino "the savior of our community." Maryland Heights Mayor Michael Moeller described the improvements his town was able to make with its casino revenues as "awesome."
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When asked if crime increased in their communities after a casino came to town, all four mayors said it did not. "They were very afraid of the element this could bring, but we have not seen that at all," said Thacher.  "The highest percentage of calls our police get from Isle of Capri are people who have locked their keys in their car."
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St. Charles Mayor Patricia York said there is no more crime at her town's casino that in its Walmart parking lot. In Alton, the crime rate has dropped 42 percent since 1990, said Mayor Tom Hoechst. When the Alton Belle casino first opened in 1991, three police officers were assigned to patrol the area, but that stopped after just nine months. "Crime in that area actually decreased because people know [the casino[']s] security is so present," Hoechst said.
When asked if casinos give away free alcoholic drinks and if they have had problems with drunken behavior at or near their casinos, mayors said no to both."We have more trouble with the [Verizon] Amphitheater by far than we do with the casino," said Maryland Heights Mayor Michael Moeller. "The casino doesn't want a bunch of drunks running around in their casino. It's a bad image."
When asked about the casinos' effect on existing businesses in their communities, all four mayors said the casinos' arrival didn't force any local businesses to close and Moeller said additional restaurants and bars have opened in Maryland Heights since the casino opened there."Businesses were leery, saying [the casino] 'can afford to pay more for bartenders and waiters. They'll steal my employees,'" Moeller said. "Some of that did happen, but that's just good business. Probably some of the rest of them had to pay more hourly wages to keep their help, but maybe they were getting by too cheap for too long."
The mayors were asked if they had always supported gambling and while Moeller and Hoechst said they didn't feel strongly either way before working with one in their own communities, Thacher said she voted against it the first time it was on the ballot in Boonville." I was brought up in a Southern Baptist home," she said. "I wasn't brought up believing in that sort of thing. But the second time, I voted for it. It's been a wonderful thing for our town, and we would be in a world of hurt without the gaming money coming into our town."
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All four communities have used their gaming revenues for different improvement projects, including new government buildings, police and fire equipment, road projects, water and sewer projects, and downtown beautification.The mayors also said the casinos have been good community partners donating money to local charitable organizations and volunteering for community projects.
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Thacher said the city of Boonville shares its casino revenues with its neighboring counties by contributing to their sheriff's departments and prosecutors offices. "We always ask them if gaming has negatively impacted their community and they always say no, but they always take the check," Thacher said.

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Read the full story by By Melissa Miller ~ Southeast Missourian at http://www.semissourian.com/story/1675845.html 
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