William M. Grace
William M. Grace (September 10, 1934 – 2004) was a building developer who played an important role in bringing casinos to the Midwest.
Grace was born on a farm near Burlington Junction, Missouri. He received a B.S. and later and MBA from the University of Arizona in 1959. He taught at Arizona State University. In 1966 W.M. Grace Construction and W.M. Grace Development Company initially headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri but later headquartered in Arizona.[1]
The company built shopping centers and houses throughout Arizona and Missouri as well as some of the first public buildings at Missouri State University as well as the B.D. Owens Library at Northwest Missouri State University.[2]
In the 1990s after gambling in various levels became legal in the Midwest he owned, built and managed:
- St. Jo Frontier Casino, St Joseph, Missouri
- Lakeside Casino and Resort, Osceola, Iowa
- Mark Twain Casino, La Grange, Missouri
- The Woodlands dog racing track, Kansas City, Kansas
His firm managed Native American gambling enterprises at:
Following his death the four Missouri and one Iowa casinos were sold to Herbst Gaming for $287 million.[3] The Woodlands has subsequently closed. Money from these and other business activities are now used by the W.M. Grace Foundation.
References
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- ↑ http://www.builderpublications.com/images/wm_grace.pdf
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