If you have never gambled in the State of Missouri before you might be surprised to hear about the $500 loss limit. Listen up, because this may be your only chance, for it now appears the limit, which was first approved by Missouri residents in 1992, has a chance of being billed away - no pun intended. That's right, a bill to overturn the loss limit is one vote away of being officially approved by the Missouri Senate, after which it would move to the House for final approval.

In response to neighboring Kansas' decision to legalize casino gambling recently, Republicans in the Missouri Senate - led by Majority Leader Charlie Shields - have put forth a bill to increase the number of casino licenses the state is allowed to issue, raise the tax rate, as well as remove the $500 loss limit, and thus generate more gambling revenue for both the casinos and state. The justification for the bill is that casinos located in Western Missouri close to the Kansas border, will be at a severe disadvantage, for Missourians would likely be willing to cross state lines to gamble with more favorable rules.

Missouri's high rollers already make the trip to Illinois, which does not have the $500 loss limit. Illinois casinos also keep more per player on average than Missouri casinos, which casino operators say is largely due to the loss limit. High rollers tend to win more than other gamblers, yet they also tend to lose more. If the limit is removed, casinos can expect to generate an additional $510 million more in annual revenue, which would equate to $110 million in taxes. These levies would be used to start a new State Scholarship Program.

The bill is stuck at the very moment, for Senator Matt Bartle (who is opposed to casino gambling) introduced a filibuster to stall the vote with over thirteen hours of superfluous debate on the Senate floor. Although the bill won preliminary approval with a bipartisan vote of 17-16, in order to gain final approval, it must receive a constitutional majority from the 34-member body. One more vote is needed, which at this stage in the game, could swing either way.