Judge's order delays decision on riverboat casinos

      JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- A circuit judge's temporary order canceled Missouri Gaming Commission hearings Friday on yanking games of chance -- including slot machines, a major moneymaker -- from 10 gambling boats floating in moats of river water.
      The order by Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder bought breathing space for the 10 boats, which rely on slots for more than two-thirds of their revenues. Kinder scheduled a Jan. 22 hearing for arguments on whether to make his order permanent or to lift it, which would let the commission press ahead.
      Kinder issued his order at the request of two gambling companies targeted for Gaming Commission discipline because they sit in artificial basins near the Missouri River at Maryland Heights, a St. Louis suburb.
      The commission had planned hearings on whether the 10 boats comply with a Dec. 19 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that games of chance could only be operated on the main channels of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers -- not in artificial basins.
      Lawyers for the two gambling companies -- Player's and Harrah's -- argued that characterizing the commission's expected actions as "disciplinary" would put a national blemish on their regulatory records.
      It could also affect the value of their publicly traded companies, they said.
      "This is making us guilty without a hearing," said Harold Fridkin, attorney for Harrah's, which sought the court order along with the Player's casino company. The companies operate two boats in moats each under one roof at Maryland Heights.
      But John Munich, the deputy attorney general who represents the Gaming Commission, told Kinder the panel is within its rights to hold disciplinary hearings, because state law and state rules give it broad sway over the riverboat industry.
      "You can't come in and just interdict the administrative process," Munich told the judge.
      Kinder issued no final decision, leaving his temporary order in effect through the Jan. 22 hearing.
      The Gaming Commission was told of the court order and immediately went into a closed meeting to consult with its lawyers and the attorney general's office. When the commission emerged about a half-hour later, it dealt with an unrelated issue and then adjourned.
      Munich noted that if the commission had decided to penalize the casinos, the owners would be able to appeal for another commission hearing within 30 days.
      The six casino companies scheduled for hearings were:
      --Boyd Kansas City, Inc., doing business as Sam's Town;
      --Flamingo Hilton Riverboat Casino at Kansas City;
      --Harrah's in North Kansas City (two boats);
      --Kansas City Station (two boats);
      --Riverport Casino Center in Maryland Heights, just west of St. Louis, where Harrah's and Player's operate their four boats.
      The Supreme Court ruling didn't affect the legality of games of skill on any boat. Those games include blackjack and poker.
      There are 16 state-licensed gambling boats in Missouri.
      All 10 riverboats that the Gaming Commission said were apparently covered by the Supreme Court ruling rest in moats within 1,000 feet of the rivers, sloshing with piped-in river water.