Investment boom bringing new, upgraded casinos to Iowa
Posted: Tuesday, March 14, 2006
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa's $1.1 billion gambling industry is undergoing a major face lift.
Investors will spend more than $742 million on Iowa's casinos over the course of the next 14 months, including four new riverboat casinos and major renovations at 10 existing casinos.
One of the biggest projects will be the $85 million Horseshoe Casino, which is built on the site of the former Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs. The casino will open Wednesday with some fanfare, including appearances by actor Jim Belushi and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon.
Other projects on tap include Iowa's newest riverboat casino, the $40 million Diamond Jo Worth, which will open on Interstate 35 near the Minnesota border, the $35 million Wild Rose Casino, which will open in Emmetsburg in northwest Iowa, and the $107 million Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, which will open about 12 miles south of Iowa City.
Expansion projects include the Meskwaki Casino, near Tama, which will receive a $111 million upgrade aimed at making the casino a destination resort.
Critics of the boom say they are alarmed at the pace of the state's growth.
"Enough is enough," said Stacey Cargill, of West Des Moines, co-chairwoman of OneVoice Iowa, an antigambling group.
But experts say that Iowa is probably not nearing a saturation point for casinos.
"When the market becomes saturated, you find that obviously they don't all make money and some forms are more successful than others," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who has written more than 500 articles about the gambling industry. "But we aren't really at that point yet."
About $1.1 billion is spent annually by around 18 million guests to Iowa's casinos. The new casinos are expected to generate an additional $200 million per year in gambling revenue.
Investors will spend more than $742 million on Iowa's casinos over the course of the next 14 months, including four new riverboat casinos and major renovations at 10 existing casinos.
One of the biggest projects will be the $85 million Horseshoe Casino, which is built on the site of the former Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs. The casino will open Wednesday with some fanfare, including appearances by actor Jim Belushi and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon.
Other projects on tap include Iowa's newest riverboat casino, the $40 million Diamond Jo Worth, which will open on Interstate 35 near the Minnesota border, the $35 million Wild Rose Casino, which will open in Emmetsburg in northwest Iowa, and the $107 million Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, which will open about 12 miles south of Iowa City.
Expansion projects include the Meskwaki Casino, near Tama, which will receive a $111 million upgrade aimed at making the casino a destination resort.
Critics of the boom say they are alarmed at the pace of the state's growth.
"Enough is enough," said Stacey Cargill, of West Des Moines, co-chairwoman of OneVoice Iowa, an antigambling group.
But experts say that Iowa is probably not nearing a saturation point for casinos.
"When the market becomes saturated, you find that obviously they don't all make money and some forms are more successful than others," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who has written more than 500 articles about the gambling industry. "But we aren't really at that point yet."
About $1.1 billion is spent annually by around 18 million guests to Iowa's casinos. The new casinos are expected to generate an additional $200 million per year in gambling revenue.
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Skkjkv wrote on Jun 29, 2007 5:58 AM: