Finally, a Bidwell Who Doesn't Need Public Money

Most of us remember when the St. Louis football Cardinals, the Big Red, left Saint Louis for Phoenix after the city turned down their demands for a new stadium. "We need a new stadium to stay competitive!" they cried. "Those Bidwells," the St. Louis populace said, "are just trying to blackmail us."

They moved to Phoenix in 1988, and of course we all know that they've been clamoring for a new stadium ever since (they're getting one now, of course, after playing for 18 years in perfectly-good Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe).

One of the Bidwells, Charles III, stayed here in St. Louis, and became president of a new riverboat casino called the Casino Queen. It's actually in East St. Louis, but it's right across the river, and they have a bus from the St. Louis side, so call it STL and be done with it.

Anyway, the news is that the Casino Queen is going to be sold and a new one built in a pond ("Boats on Moats" are legal in Illinois as long as the moat is within 1000 feet of an actual river. I guess the thinking is that if the river floods, the casino has the potential of becoming a riverboat).

"We need a new building to be competitive," Bidwell is crying. "We can't get the business of St. Louisians without a new facility!"

But here's the thing - the company that employs Bidwell is actually paying for the new boat and pond.

What a nice change of pace. I wonder where Chuck 3 is on Bill Bidwell's ownership transfer plan...

(story here)