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Lake Of The Ozarks Casino: Missouri House Hearing Draws Supporters, Opponents, And Competition

  • Updated
  • 3 min to read
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri House committee on Thursday evening heard arguments for and against a change to the state constitution that would allow the construction of a casino at Lake of the Ozarks.

House Joint Resolution 23 and its companion bill in the House would put to Missouri voters the question of whether to change the state constitution specifically to do two things:

1. Add the Osage River to the bodies of water upon which excursion boat gambling is allowed, and

2. Increase the number of gaming licenses to 14 (state statute currently sets the number at 13) and earmark one of those licenses for a casino on the Osage River.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Knight, R-Lebanon, spoke in support of the bill and was asked by Representative Aune if the bill was popular among locals in the area. 

“There’s mixed feelings, you’re going to hear testimony here for it and against it,” Rep. Knight replied. 

Lake Ozark Mayor Newberry spoke in support of the resolution and of the unanimous support of the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen. He cited Lake Ozark's small size in comparison to the huge influx of tourists that come in every year that make it difficult to bring in enough taxes for capital improvements. 

“Our community has 90 miles of roads, sewer, water infrastructure and 2000 residents to pay for that 90 miles,” Newberry said. “We have been missing economic development on a major scale for decades in our community and we’re one of the largest tourist destinations in the state of Missouri. We have $25 million of capital improvements right now that we don’t have the funds for. That is why we’re here today to tell you about our support of what that looks like in our community.”

Rep. Aune asked if Newberry personally owned any property in the region being discussed for an Osage River Casino. Newberry answered that he did.

“Okay, so you have a personal, financial interest in this development that’s on your land?” said Rep. Aune. 

“I’ll say this, the property that I own I’ve owned for 15 to 20 years. It’s an old resort and where it’s located I do not see that it would be a prime location for a casino. But I suppose it could happen, so out of transparency I do,” Newberry replied. 

Tim Hand, an investor in Osage River Gaming (ORG), quoted several projected statistics about the economic impact of a casino on the Osage River. 

“It will be an approximately $200 million project and will generate 700 construction jobs, mostly local. Once it’s completed and in operation, the facility will generate at least 100 million in annual revenue and will create an equal number of permanent jobs, year-round, full-time with benefits. This facility would be the Lake’s second largest employer after Lake Regional Health System,” Hand stated.

Several local business owners spoke in favor of the bill including Alan Scott with Hi-Tech Auto Body & Towing. 

“I’m in support of the casino, I think we need year-round staffing. It’s the biggest problem I have. I have 16 tow trucks and it’s really easy to find staff in the summer but it’s very difficult to find staff and support things in the winter,” he explained.

Opposition to the casino on moral grounds was also voiced by several individuals. 

“It’s almost like some kind of crack cocaine in terms of addictions.” said former Lake Ozark mayor Rick Moss. “People spend a lot of time and money gambling. If gambling is allowed to be imposed upon us by this measure, the future of Lake Ozark will never be the same and it won’t be for the better.”  

Several people representing the Osage Nation, which also has plans to build a casino in Lake Ozark (and is not constrained by Missouri's constitution) spoke at the hearing. Among them was Rocky Miller, who originally sponsored a bill similar to this in 2020 on behalf of ORG. Miller now works with the lobbying group that represents the Osage Nation in their attempt to bring a casino to the Lake of the Ozarks. Miller spoke strongly about statements that had been made claiming the Osage Nation Casino did not pay taxes. 

“I find it insulting and misleading, and some of the comments that were made were outright lies. So to blatantly place one entity against the other because of their background or because of what they may or may not do for you. Last I checked, I didn’t think that’s really what we cared about here but maybe I’m wrong,” said Miller. “To say that one does not contribute to the community while the other does, is an out and out lie. It’s not true, it’s not true in the past, it’s not true where the Osage Nation is currently. It’s absolutely untrue and to say otherwise is wrong. And to be quite honest, it upsets me a little.”

Kimberly Pearson, CEO of Osage Nation Gaming, spoke about the Osage Nation’s historic presence in the state of Missouri. She also stated, in answer to concerns that sales-tax exempt gas at an Osage Nation Casino could driving out local competition, that there were no plans to build a C-store in Lake Ozark. Pearson also stressed that Missouri is the historic home of the Osage Nation. 

“I’m hopeful that everyone knows in this room that Missouri was the historic homeland of the Osage Nation and we have chosen the Lake of the Ozarks because everything about it is the Osage, the School of the Osage, the Osage National Golf Course. The community has taken great pride in keeping our name alive in an area that we have been gone from for years and years,” Pearson said. “When we come into a community, we come in because this is our homeland. We are committed to an area.”

A Lake Of The Ozarks Casino... Or Two? Lake Expo's Exclusive Coverage

LakeExpo's editorial team has covered the proposals of both the private-investor casino and the Osage Nation casino since 2020. Here's a complete library of the dozens of articles we've written in the past few years...

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