By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon raised concerns Monday about a planned state takeover of a casino in the southest Missouri town of Caruthersville, going so far as to call it "horrific public policy" that conflicted with the regulatory duties of the Missouri Gaming Commission.
The commission voted unanimously Friday to temporarily take control of the Casino Aztar in Caruthersville until a licensed buyer can be found.
The casino is owned by Phoenix-based Aztar Corp., which is in the process of being sold to Columbia Sussex Corp. of Fort Mitchell, Ky. Columbia Sussex has been unable to get a Missouri license, but no other buyer could be found and licensed by the Nov. 19 deadline.
As a result, the state's gaming enforcement manager, Clarence Greeno, is to be appointed to run the casino for up to nine months. Commission Executive Director Gene McNary said the unusual move is necessary to save jobs, as well as the taxes and fees paid by the casino.
But in a letter Monday to Gov. Matt Blunt, Nixon called the Gaming Commission decision "a perversion of its law enforcement and regulatory role, and an unprecedented interference in the private sector." In an interview with the Associated Press, he added that it was "horrific public policy."
The decision will allow Columbia Sussex to make money off the casino, even though it has not been licensed to operate it, Nixon said.
"A Missouri Gaming Commission employee will be working to take money from Missouri customers, bundle up that cash, and send it to an out-of-state casino boss who because of his performance record elsewhere has no chance of ever being licensed to run his own casino in Missouri," Nixon said in the letter.
Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said the governor supports the Gaming Commission's decision as a temporary way to avoid harmful economic effects to the local community and the casino's workers, were it otherwise forced to close. But the governor still opposes the expansion of gambling and is not responsible for the Gaming Commission's decision, she added.
"The Gaming Commission is independent and bipartisan. They took this action on their own accord, and they ultimately are responsible to account for their reasoning," Robinson said.
McNary was not immediately available for comment Monday, said Gaming Commission spokeswoman LeAnn McCarthy, who had no comment herself.
The Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada in Reno said at least two similar short-term takeovers have occurred in that state.
Nixon contends there still is time for the Missouri Gaming Commission to choose an alternative approach. He said that in similar instances with nursing homes, for example, the state has gone to court to get a receiver appointed to manage the businesses.