As chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission, the former state senator from Sedalia has heard detailed pitches from all three companies that are angling for the state's 13th and last gambling license. That includes Isle of Capri, which wants to build a $125 million casino in Cape Girardeau. Another company wants to build in St. Louis and a third wants to build in Sugar Creek, near Kansas City. If voters say no Tuesday, it would remove Cape Girardeau from consideration.

Matthewson and the other commissioners also have heard from the public at hearings at St. Louis, Kansas City and here. Last week, he heard a presentation from the Department of Economic Development.

The DED is working on a comprehensive study of the economic impact statewide. The report isn't complete, and won't be by Tuesday, but they gave a preliminary report in Jefferson City the day before the companies made their pitches.

On Friday, Mathewson said he would not share what he and other commissioners heard in the closed-session portion of the meeting.

"Probably not, buddy," he told me, meaning "absolutely not."

He went on to say that the study is ongoing.

"They did make a presentation," he said. "Yes, it answered questions. But I don't think that study should be used to sway voters either way."

It may not matter either way. As Mayor Harry Rediger intimated earlier this week, voters in Cape Girardeau are probably not interested in what economic impact casinos in other cities will have on their community.

Maybe, maybe not.

A study released by Southeast Missouri State University on Wednesday said a casino would be a huge plus economically, and that's the main thing voters should be interested in, the thinking goes.

I know I would have liked to see the DED report. I don't know what it says, so I can't say it's irrelevant. But, like I said, Mathewson has seen a lot and heard of lot of information that we don't have access to, including the main points of that study.

Do you think it would be relevant?

Oh, by the way, Mathewson said it's still a possibility that no 13th license will be granted, even though he's heard and seen much of the financial information from the company and whatever it is the DED has said about the impact to the state's coffers.

"We're looking as deep as we can possibly look at the financial data," he said. "I have nightmares, literally, about one of these companies not being able to do what they say they're going to do. We have a lot of options and not doing anything is still one."