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Florissant Mayor Robert Lowery Sr. said the 2,000 permanent jobs and thousands more construction jobs tied to the proposed $350 million Riverview Casino in Spanish Lake are economic stimulus St. Louis County cannot afford to lose.

“With so many carpenters, ironworkers, pipefitters, sheet metal workers, electricians, plumbers and laborers out of work in this dire recession, the North County casino project would be a lifeline to thousands of North County families,” Lowery said in a statement this week. “The permanent jobs are also attractive with unemployment remaining so high in the region.”

Last week, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley came out against the casino, citing environmental and flooding concerns, a move trumpeted by residents who had protested against the project.

Applications for the 13th and final Missouri casino license are due Sept. 1. The state’s last gaming license will become available in July when Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) closes the President Casino on the Mississippi River at the foot of Laclede’s Landing in downtown St. Louis.

“Whether you are for or against gambling, the fact is that it is legal in Missouri and there will be one more license issued,” Lowery said. “Rather than worrying about competition between casinos in the region, the region’s leaders should be concerned that these jobs will be lost to another part of the state. North County especially could use another economic engine. If we want housing values to remain high, then there have to be jobs to keep families here.”

The group backing the 377-acre casino complex is North County Development LLC, led by Wood River attorney Brad Lakin of LakinChapman LLC; his wife, Hallie Lakin; executive Kenneth Goldstein of Argo Products Co. in north St. Louis; and Wood River-based real estate investor Julie McDonald.

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