LAKE OZARK, Mo. — In one meeting, Lake Ozark city leaders gave the thumbs-up to two separate groups, each hoping to construct a casino within the city.
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the city Board of Aldermen unanimously passed two bills that strike a deal with the Osage Nation, regarding its plans to construct a hotel and casino at the corner of Bagnell Dam Blvd. and Osage Beach Pkwy.
After those bills passed, the Board unanimously approved a resolution in support of a proposed private-investor-developed casino near the Osage River. The group proposing it is the same group that tried to pass a constitutional amendment in 2024, which would have been required in order to receive a state gaming license for a casino on the Osage River. Missourians rejected that amendment by a vote of 52.5% NO to 47.5% YES.
However, some things have changed since last year. The group is working under a new name: formerly it was Osage River Gaming & Conventions. Now they have reformed as “Lake of the Ozarks Community Gaming.” And while many of the investors are the same, the group no longer partnered with mega gaming company Bally’s. New renderings of the casino have removed the “BALLY’S” logo. The group says it is opting not to select a casino operator until after the amendment passes, noting it faced $10 million in opposition marketing from a competing casino company in 2024.
Additionally, the investors have teamed up with Jeff Tegethoff, the developer of the ongoing Oasis at Lakeport project at Lake of the Ozarks, as well as the Preserve at Sycamore Creek apartment complex in Osage Beach.
The City has little say over the Osage Nation casino — it agreed to provide utilities and policing, and the Osage Nation agreed to a fee in lieu of typical taxation (which the Osage would not be subject to), which the city estimates could result in around $1.9 million per year in revenue.
The private investor group, however, would be subject to state, county, and city ordinances (the Osage Nation will not) and codes, not to mention any tax incentive measures they may seek in order to help pay for construction.
The City’s blessing was an important milestone before the investment group was confident moving forward. Andy Prewitt, one of the investors, told LakeExpo that once the City passed its resolution in support of the casino, “[we] will immediately be working on the redraft of the ballot language and submitting to [the Missouri Secretary of State] hopefully this week or early next week.”
The investment group hopes to use the Citizen Initiative Petition process (signature-gathering) to place the proposed amendment on Missouri’s general elections ballot in November of 2026.
