Iowa's $1 billion-a-year casino industry took a step toward expansion Tuesday night as business and community leaders enthusiastically spoke of why the state needs more slot machines, roulette wheels and card games.
Promoters of four new riverboat casinos each had 45 minutes to pitch their projects to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which is expected to vote in May to authorize an unspecified number of additional gambling licenses.
The presentations conclude today in Johnston with appearances from the six remaining applicants.
About 50 people from Emmetsburg, wearing buttons that read "I support Wild Rose Entertainment," attended the first sales pitch Tuesday night. The theme of the presentation was titled "Breathing New Life Into Emmetsburg," and it focused on the city's Irish heritage and efforts to rebuild the local economy through a $45 million casino project.
"I want to create an opportunity in Emmetsburg," said Julie Clarkson, president of the Palo Alto County Gaming Development Corp., which would be a nonprofit partner of the casino operation.
Wild Rose, primarily owned by Des Moines-area businessmen Gary Kirke and Michael Richards, is one of two applicants for casino licenses in Emmetsburg.
The second project, at Five Island Lake, will be presented today by another investor group.
Don Hoth of Waterloo, president of the nonprofit Black Hawk County Gaming Association, told state regulators that he and several other Waterloo-area community leaders had visited 21 casinos in five states in trying to find a suitable business partner. They closely inspected each casino, talked with employees, and looked at the cleanliness of restrooms, he said.
"There was one very clearly at the top and that was Isle of Capri," Hoth said.
Isle of Capri, based in Biloxi, Miss., is proposing a $118 million casino complex near Interstate Highway 380 in Waterloo.
The commission also heard from developers of the proposed $116 million Cedar Landing Hotel and Casino in downtown Waterloo.
Edward Gallagher Jr., a lawyer who supports the riverboat project, said obtaining approval for the casino is crucial to the revitalization of the city's central business district.
Gallagher called the gambling boat "the last chance to stop the deterioration of downtown Waterloo."
He was seconded by Gary Kroeger of Cedar Falls, who said an airport ticket agent at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport smirked when he saw his destination was Waterloo, remarking, "Oh, sorry dude."
A third casino project proposed in Waterloo at the city's former greyhound racetrack will be presented today to state regulators.
State regulators also heard Tuesday from supporters of a proposed $40 million Wild Rose casino in Ottumwa, which would be primarily owned by Kirke and Richards, under an arrangement similar to the Emmetsburg project.
Backers of the Ottumwa casino described how their once-prosperous city suffered through plant closings and saw a downturn in retail commerce. But they see Ottumwa en route to a resurgence in which a gambling operation can play a key role.
"I have lived in Ottumwa my whole life," said Elizabeth Stoltz Peters, a parent and teacher. "I see a hometown that still has the potential to be a great city." The casino would provide good jobs for the parents of many of her students, she said.
Steve Siegel, who heads the nonprofit partner of Ottumwa's proposed casino operator, remarked: "This is more than a casino. This is a development opportunity for our community."
New casinos proposed in Fort Dodge, Riverside, rural Franklin and rural Worth counties will be presented at today's session.
Iowa currently has 16 casinos, including 10 aboard riverboats, three at racetracks and three on American Indian tribal lands.
Even if some of the 10 prospective casino operators are turned down by state gambling regulators, there's nothing in Iowa law to prevent them from returning in the future with new license applications, said Linda Vanderloo, deputy administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
In Osceola, for example, state regulators twice rejected applications for riverboat casino licenses from Illinois-based Argosy Gaming Co. Ultimately, on the community's third try, the commission approved plans for Lakeside Casino Resort developed by Missouri businessman William Grace, who died last year. The Osceola casino was recently sold to Herbst Gaming of Las Vegas.