A Casino at Lake of the Ozarks? The Worst Idea the Region Has Seen in Decades

Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri is being pitched another "golden opportunity" , this time, it's a massive casino project that promises to be the economic savior the region has been waiting for.

But here's the thing: anyone who actually lives and works in this area knows better.

A casino isn't economic development. It's economic parasitism dressed up in fancy marketing language. And for a region already struggling with real employment opportunities, this could be the worst decision local leaders make in decades.

The Jobs Myth: Low-Wage Work Isn't Economic Progress

Politicians and developers love throwing around job creation numbers, but let's be honest about what kind of "jobs" a casino actually creates.

Within 40 miles of where this casino would sit, you'll find plenty of people who need work , but they don't need more bartending gigs, housekeeping shifts, or seasonal service positions. They need careers that can support families, build communities, and create long-term stability.

A casino offers:

• Low hourly wages with minimal benefits

• High turnover rates

• Seasonal fluctuations based on tourism

• No skill development or career advancement

• Work schedules that make family life difficult

That's not job creation , that's job desperation. The Lake of the Ozarks region desperately needs employers who offer skilled trades, manufacturing positions, healthcare careers, professional services, and technical jobs that people can build their lives around.

Instead, we're being sold another tourist trap that will employ people just enough to keep them from leaving, but never enough to let them thrive.

Second-Home Owners Know the Truth About This Market

Here's something casino proponents don't want to discuss: the people with money who come to Lake of the Ozarks aren't stupid. They love the water, the scenery, and the escape from city life , but they also understand the economic reality here.

They don't open businesses. They don't relocate companies. They don't invest in local workforce development.

Why? Because there's no foundation to build on.

Lake of the Ozarks has become a weekend destination for people escaping their Monday-through-Friday responsibilities, while year-round residents face an economy that's slow, stagnant, seasonal, and unstable.

The people buying second homes here already know what local leaders refuse to admit: this area lacks the infrastructure, workforce development, and business environment needed for real economic growth. Adding a casino doesn't fix those fundamental problems , it just creates another business model that feeds off them.

Missouri's Casino Track Record Tells the Real Story

Anyone pushing this casino idea clearly hasn't looked at Missouri's actual casino history, because the data is pretty clear: casinos in rural or tourist-dependent areas either fail outright or become economic vampires that drain their communities dry.

Outside of St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri casinos have a track record of:

• Bleeding the poorest residents for revenue

• Creating unsustainable boom-bust cycles

• Closing when tourist traffic doesn't meet projections

• Leaving behind empty buildings and unemployed workers

This isn't opinion , it's what happens when you try to build an economy around gambling in markets that can't sustain it long-term.

Rural and tourist-area casinos survive by extracting money from people who can least afford to lose it. They don't create wealth; they redistribute it upward while leaving local families with less money to spend at actual local businesses.

The Hospitality Career Lie

Let's address the biggest myth being pushed here: that hospitality work represents a viable career path in Lake of the Ozarks.

Hospitality isn't a career in this market , it's survival work.

Real career development means:

• Wages that grow with experience and skill

• Benefits that support families

• Opportunities for advancement and specialization

• Work that exists year-round, regardless of tourist seasons

• Skills that transfer to other industries and markets

Casino and hospitality jobs offer none of that. They offer just enough income to keep people from leaving, but never enough opportunity to build something better.

The Lake of the Ozarks region needs employers who can attract and retain families by offering engineering positions, skilled trades, healthcare careers, logistics and distribution work, manufacturing jobs, and professional services. These are the careers that create stable communities and real economic growth.

What Real Economic Development Actually Looks Like

Instead of chasing another tourist-dependent business model, Lake of the Ozarks should be focusing on the kind of development that builds lasting prosperity:

Infrastructure Investment

• Broadband access that supports remote work and tech businesses

• Transportation improvements that connect the region to major markets

• Utility systems that can support manufacturing and logistics operations

Workforce Development

• Vocational training programs for skilled trades

• Partnerships with community colleges for technical certifications

• Healthcare training programs to address regional shortages

Business Environment Improvements

• Incentives for companies that offer year-round, benefits-eligible employment

• Support for entrepreneurs and small businesses

• Development of business parks and industrial zones

This is how you build an economy that lifts people up instead of extracting money from them. This is how you create communities where families can thrive instead of just survive.

The Long-Term Damage a Casino Will Create

Here's what casino proponents won't tell you: by the time a casino has drained the local economy , leaving broken families, empty pockets, and no sustainable career opportunities , the developers and politicians who pushed it will be long gone.

They'll have collected their fees, their campaign contributions, and their consulting contracts. They'll have moved on to the next "opportunity" in the next desperate community.

But the residents of Lake of the Ozarks will be stuck with the aftermath: a region even more dependent on tourism, even less attractive to real employers, and even further behind in the kind of development that creates lasting prosperity.

Lake of the Ozarks Deserves Better

The people of Lake of the Ozarks don't need another business that feeds off their desperation. They deserve opportunity. They deserve real careers. They deserve development that lifts the entire region instead of extracting wealth from it.

A casino doesn't build a community , it preys on one. And this time, local residents and business leaders need to push back, loud and clear.

This region has incredible potential for real economic development. It has natural beauty, available land, and hardworking people who deserve better than another low-wage tourist trap.

But realizing that potential means saying no to quick fixes and easy promises. It means demanding the kind of long-term investment that creates real careers, stable families, and thriving communities.

The choice is clear: Lake of the Ozarks can continue down the path of tourism-dependent survival economics, or it can demand the kind of development that builds lasting prosperity.

A casino represents the worst of the first option. The region deserves leaders who will fight for the second.

Randy Dinwiddie is the owner of Dependable Brokers, a Missouri-based advertising firm specializing in helping local businesses and communities make informed economic development decisions.