William M. Grace

Who was William M. Grace?

William M. Grace 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.

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.

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:

Casino White Cloud, White Cloud, Kansas

Bucky's Casino, Prescott, Arizona

Following his death the four Missouri and one Iowa casinos were sold to Herbst Gaming for $287 million. The Woodlands has subsequently closed. Money from these and other business activities are now used by the W.M. Grace Foundation.