St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 150

4BP ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH I MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1993 I MONDAY MEMO 'St. Charles Gambling Issues Ready To Float Compiled by Gary A. Clark Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Most of us would do just about anything to avoid bugs. We hate them and will swat, stomp and spray the repugnant creepy-crawlies every chance we get.

DAVID HALL, who disdains the use of any kind of spray, not only sees the good and bad in bugs he likes most of them. An entomologist, Hall uses the good bugs to battle the bad ones as commander of bug wars on 143,000 acres of sugar cane and citrus owned by U.S. SUGAR in the sprawling Florida Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee. Assisted by three technicians, Hall runs an entomology laboratory and a newly built "insec-tory" Hall's term for a bug factory inside U.S. Sugar's re search compound in Clewiston, The company is searching for its oldest operating aluminum-tub, wringer washer in a contest to celebrate the 100th anniversary of MAYTAG founding.

The winner will have to agree to sell the old machine to the company for $1,000 in cash and a new Maytag washer. The company is asking owners of the aluminum-tub, wringer washers still in use to send their name, address, phone number and washer serial number on a 3-by-5 card to Maytag Dept. CW, One Dependability Square, Newton, Iowa 50208. Maytag made 12 million models of the wringer washers between 1919 and 1983 and says it receives hundreds of letters each year from owners who still use models made as long ago as the 1920s. The winner will be chosen on July 15 on the basis of the earliest production date, to be determined by the serial number.

We're pretty sure it will all come out in the wash. There are those of us who would rather not dicker over the price of a new or used car. Our sentiments are in line with those of Detroit's DENNIS BIRD. Bird, after spending four hours wrangling over the price of the last truck he'd bought, this time went to a one-price dealer in Dearborn, Mich. "I appreciated his candor on the prices of the options and stuff," said Bird.

"I felt comfortable in that I knew what that stuff was supposed to cost. I knew he'd make some money on it. That's OK with me I just don't want to get gouged." On the other side of the highway are those who prefer to haggle, no matter the consequences. These people aren't convinced they got a great deal unless they had to dicker. "It comes down to pride," said BRIAN DeGA-LAN, who negotiated with three dealers before buying a VOLVO station wagon.

"You've got to feel like you've won something." Without negotiations, the computer salesman says, it's impossible for the dealer and customer to achieve that "win-win" feeling. "Five hundred bucks isn't as important as pride and respect," De-Galan said. Haggling, in other words, is an important part of the buying process to some people. "Some customers are so price constrained, or so ego-driven, that this is critical to them that they got the best deal," said DORIS EHLERS, a researcher for J.D. POWER ASSOCIATES.

These consumers will try to negotiate, even with The Fertitta family has made its fortune catering to local residents, repeat visitors and slot-machine fans at Palace Station, a hotel and casino complex away from the main Las Vegas strip. In addition to Palace Station, Station Casinos owns and operates various video-poker machine, vending-machine and pay telephone operations in Nevada and Louisiana. It also owns two sports bars in Las Vegas. The company said it reported net income of $8.1 million on revenue of $126.8 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31. In the nine months ending Dec.

31, the company reported net income of $7.8 million, up 50 percent from a year earlier. Revenue rose 18 percent to $109.9 million. The company has paid its executives well, too. Frank Fertitta III earned $698,000 in salary, bonuses and other compensation last year; Frank Fertitta Jr. earned $390,000.

Next, the company is seeking to develop a $50 million casino in St Charles and an $80 million casino in Las Vegas that will also cater to local residents. Station Casinos plans to develop its St. Charles casino complex on 52 acres along the Missouri River just north of the Blanchette Bridge. Officials hope to open the project by the end of the year. St.

Charles Riverfront Station, the company's affiliate here, has agreed to pay $17 million for the Dubuque Casino Belle riverboat and move that boat from Iowa to St Charles for gambling. And it plans to develop a three-story entertainment and restaurant barge and riverfront parking. On Feb. 26, the company completed its previously announced deal to buy the land and the Spirit of St. Charles excursion boat from David B.

Flavan, who also owns the Best Western Noah's Ark Restaurant and Motor Inn. The company bought the Spirit of St. Charles for $1.65 million and the land for $3.5 million to $4 million, with the final price to be determined by certain conditions not disclosed. Flavan got $1.1 million so far, with the rest to be paid by a promissory note backed by the assets, the prospectus says. "I wish them the best of the luck in the world," said Flavan, who owned the land for about 20 years and Spirit of St.

Charles for five years. "They are going to need it. There are going to be a lot of gambling boats out there." By the end of this month, St. Charles Riverfront Station must complete its purchase of the Iowa boat under the terms of that purchase agreement. The company, which has put $1 million down on the boat, must come up with $9.5 million cash and a $6.5 million note by then.

By Adam Goodman Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The Las Vegas company bringing riverboat gambling to St Charles has bought the riverfront land for its venture and is now preparing to raise about $330 million by selling stock and bonds to the public. Station Casinos the new corporate moniker for the owners of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, wants to join the parade of privately owned casino concerns going public amid the current flurry of interest in riverboat gambling. Station Casinos plans to use the money from the $230 million stock offering and concurrent 100 million debt offering to buy out its founder, pay down its existing bank debt and develop the St. Charles riverboat complex and another casino in Las Vegas, the company said in a preliminary prospectus filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Frank J.

Fertitta founder of the Palace Station Hotel and Casino, intends to cash out of his 54 percent stake in the family-run company in the public stock offering. Fertitta Jr. should rake in $160 million to 1 83 million for the 1 1 .4 million shares he is selling, based on the expected price of $14 to $16 a share in the offering. Fertitta Jr. intends to give his remaining 400,000 shares to charity, the prospectus says.

Fertitta's two sons Frank J. Fertitta III and Lorenzo J. Fertitta and his son-in-law, Blake L. Sartini, will still own about 46 percent of the company's stock following the offering. Frank Fertitta III, 31, is chairman and CEO of the company.

Lorenzo Fertitta, 24, is a director. Sartini, 34, is vice president of gaming operations. Station Casinos is stepping out as the latest dance partner in riverboat gambling's waltz with Wall Street. Casino America, which owns the Isle of Capri casino in Biloxi, was the first to take center stage when it merged into a publicly registered shell corporation and began trading on the NASDAQ exchange in September. Since then, the waterways have become more crowded.

Casino Magic of Bay St. Louis, went public in October. President Riverboat Casinos owned by John E. Connelly, went public in December. And Argosy Gaming which owns the Alton Belle, went public last month.

Station Casinos plans to sell at least 15.7 million shares of stock in its public offering. Salomon Brothers Inc. and Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette are underwriting both the stock and debt offerings. Volpe Welty Co. of San Francisco also is underwriting the stock sale.

Fla. Hall's work is a key part of U.S. Sugar's integrated pest management program, which seeks ways to reduce bug infestations in crops without pesticides. Last year, U.S. Sugar grew 62 percent of its sugar and citrus crops pesticide-free, thanks to the bug program and other non-chemical pest management strategies, said HENRY ANDREIS, U.S.

Sugar's senior vice president of research. "Environmentally, it's sound. Economically, it's more sound," said Andreis, who brought Hall to Clewiston in the 'Glades farm belt 12 years ago to work for U.S. Sugar. Hall keeps a pet tarantula named Fang in his office, and has a collection of bug paperweights.

But Andreis said Hall's dedication to his job goes beyond mere fascination with bugs: "He wants to get down to their fine details, see where their weaknesses are." Scientists like to use parasites for biological control because "parasite-host relationships are very specific," said Hall, who truly enjoys working with agricultural pests. "It's amazing how beautiful and diverse they are," he said. Maybe they are beautiful but it's difficult for us to take the word of a person who has a double-ugly tarantula for a pet. It was nice to read recently that TED TURNER is doing his part to fill the world's cultural vacuum and win over foreign hearts and minds to American ways. TURNER BROADCASTING is not only offering golden-oldie movies with such stars as HUMPHREY BOGART and BETTE DAVIS and SPENCER TRACY to European television viewers, it is also planning to flood Latin American airways with cartoons.

The group's TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION EUROPE division will start running its Cartoon Network and a film-based TNT channel in September. Both channels will be broadcast in English, with some parts dubbed into French, Swedish and Norwegian. Turner expects to increase these language segments and add other languages as the service progresses. TURNER ENTERTAINMENT NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL will start broadcasting the animation channel to Latin America on April 30. The company owns an animation library of more than 8,500 cartoons under the MGM, WARNER BROS, and HANNA-BARBERA banners, including Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, the Jetsons and Tom and Jerry.

It would draw on these for 14 hours a day of cartoons. Hmmmm 14 hours a day of cartoons Then, again, it could be as intellectually stimulating as watching Congress at work on C-Span. The lonely MAYTAG repairman who has been looking for work for years in television commercials may finally get his reward. a no-haggle car dealer. "Once you start negotiating, you've lost your credibility," said GORDON STEWART, owner of GORDON CHEVROLET in Garden City, Mich.

"The price has to be as low as you would take from the best negotiator." Stewart said. "If he tlti walked in and asked $100 less, you'd have to let him walk away." One-third of the dealers who tried the concept last year abandoned it, according J.D. POWER'S study. "This is a very, very different way to run a dealership," Ehlers said. "It takes a lot of culture change and dealer training." And it takes perseverance: Dealers must be dedicated to the no-dicker sticker.

This column is compiled from Post-Dispatch wire services. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "We built it to look like Las Vegas. We've got more lights on this boat than on any boat ever built ED FISHMAN, chairman of Players, which celebrated the grand opening of its Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis, on Saturday. Date Of Share Price Friday's Firm Offering At Offering Close Casino America Sept. 1992 $19.121 Casino Magic Oct.

1992 $27.25 President Riverboat Dec. 1992 $18.50 $52.50 Argosy Naming Feb. 1993 $19-00 $1875 Station Casinos Pending $14.00 N.A. to $16.00 1 Not a public offering. Merged into a public shell company, which had been trading in this range..