Casino Queen tossing hefty chips against Prop A
The
Casino Queen, the casino riverboat across the river on the East Side,
has tossed in $150,000 to aid the Missouri opponents of Proposition A
– which would limit the number of Missouri boats and eliminate the $500
per-cruise loss limit (as well as increase casino taxes and direct that
money to schools).
The lack of a loss limit in Illinois is among the attractions for visitors to the Casino Queen.
The $150,000 donation was made on Oct. 17, according to papers filed
with the Missouri Ethics Commission. It was first reported by Firedupmissouri.com, the Democratic-leaning blog site.
A spokesman for the pro-Proposition A group (which includes the
Missouri gaming boats, among others) said in a statement that the
Casino Queen “wants Missouri to remain at a competitive disadvantage
to casinos in Illinois and other states…”
Also donating to the anti-Prop A group, Voters for Good Government,
was Tamko executive David Humphries of Joplin., who gave $50,000. (The
Humphries are major Republican donors in this state.)
Scott Charton, the spokesman for YES on A Coalition, asserted that
the Casino Queen is helping to bankroll the anti-gaming crowd in
Missouri. “They are in bed together in…a marriage of political
expediency,” he said.
He said that anti-Prop A group “has sponsored robocalls against Prop A, calls which misrepresent and distort Prop A.”
