By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

When she retired after 23 years as instrumental music teacher at Carthage Junior High School, Fran Wallain had some ideas about her next career.

“I don’t want a sad job,” Wallain said. “I don’t want a hard job. I want a fun job.”

Wallain will tell anyone who asks that she found that fun job as a card dealer at Downstream Casino Resort.

The casino opened a year ago Sunday, with the hotel opening last Nov. 22. The $200 million casino and hotel are just west of Joplin, off the Baxter Springs, Kan., exit to Interstate 44, where Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas meet.

Economic impact

Sean Harrison, casino spokesman, said in its first year, Downstream has been an economic stimulus for the area. Harrison said Downstream has made an impact of about $107 million on the area economy in its first year. That includes payments to area vendors totaling about $77.5 million, and payroll and benefits totaling nearly $29 million.

The state of Oklahoma also has received revenues from the Quapaw Tribe from Downstream and Quapaw Casino totaling about $4.5 million during the fiscal year that just ended, according to the Office of State Finance.

Of the vendor money, Oklahoma vendors have received $58 million of the total; Missouri vendors, $16 million; Kansas vendors, nearly $2 million; and Arkansas vendors, about $1.5 million.

Harrison said Downstream started with about 1,250 employees on opening day, when 10,000 people came through the doors. He said since then, through being more efficient and by natural employee attrition, the employee ranks have decreased to between 1,100 and 1,150.

He said there never was any consideration of layoffs, because business has been so good.

Wallain has been employed there since the first day. She said she interviewed with a person, who called her soon after to ask if she would like to go to dealer school.

While still teaching, she took classes to be a dealer from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday for about two months.

Eye-opener