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Riverboat proposal causes contention

Harrah's Riverboat Casino in Metropolis
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Harrah's Riverboat Casino in Metropolis

By Rebecca Feldhaus

Metropolis, IL – Massac County and the city of Metropolis, Illinois are in contention over a proposal for a new riverboat. City Corporate Counselor Rick Abell says the investment the city would make would not provide a significant enough return. He cites a recent drop in revenue from Metropolis's lone casino back to the city which in-turn is parsed out to the County . Abell continues to say the proposal is "ludicrous," and contains no study or specific plan.

"There's never been anything in writing other than these press releases, I call them headline grabbers, that the county was going to seek either a second license for Massac County to have another riverboat, or they were going to ask the legislature to change the law so that the money from the existing riverboat came from the county rather than the city."

Currently, the county receives an 18-thousand dollar monthly allotment from the city's casino revenue. County Commissioner Jayson Farmer tells WPSD TV the plan makes sense to bring in more revenue for the city. Counselor Abell says this action would cause undue tax increases and offers the alternative of a county payroll tax to increase county coffers.