(UPDATE, 3:15 P.M.): Sec. of State Shoots Down Osage Gaming Casino Issue for November Ballot Citing “Insufficiency of Petition” Signatures

A statewide ballot issue to authorize another casino license specifically for a gambling boat to be located on the Osage River at Lake of the Ozarks hits, at least, a temporary snag and…for the time being…will not appear on the November ballot.

The Secretary of State’s Office reports that the number of signatures required in three of the eight congressional Districts, including district-2 covering St. Louis and St. Charles counties, were insufficient to get the Osage Gaming issue on the ballot…the number of valid signatures in the second district being just under 2,000 short of sufficiency. At least six of the eight districts statewide had to meet certain signature sufficiency for the issue to be put on the November ballot.

The other two districts not having enough verified signatures included district-6 in western Missouri and district-8 in southeast Missouri.

John Hancock, a spokesman for Osage Gaming and Convention, tells KRMS News the group is confident that any effort to go through the court system will verify the numbers and reverse the Secretary of State’s determination by allowing the issue to appear on the November 5^th ballot.