Gambling faces few open ears in '07
casinos. Officials in the three communities say they will likely bring their
requests to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which regulates licenses,
rather than ask for help from the Legislature. "At this point, we are going
to follow the commission's lead. We feel that the Legislature has already
spoken to this issue," said John Pavone, president of Signature Management
Group, which is working with Tama County officials on plans for a Tama-area
casino. Wapello County Supervisor Steve Siegel, who heads a nonprofit
Ottumwa group that wants a casino, said he'll bank on Gov.-elect Chet
Culver, a fellow Democrat, to help his community get a license. Culver has
said that if new casino licenses are issued, Ottumwa and Fort Dodge should
be next in line. The commission rejected proposals for casinos in those two
communities last year. "We are hoping that will carry a little weight" with
state gambling regulators, Siegel said. The gaming commission will meet on
March 1 at Terrible's Lakeside Casino in Osceola to discuss additional
licenses. The commission awarded four new casino licenses last year, and
Chairwoman Kate Cutler of Council Bluffs said she wants to monitor all of
those before more licenses are granted. Three of the casinos - in rural
Worth County, Emmetsburg and Riverside - have opened. The fourth - a $175
million gambling complex in Waterloo - will be opened next spring by Isle of
Capri Casinos. Iowa already has 19 casinos, including three racetrack
casinos and 13 riverboats, plus three American Indian casinos on tribal
lands, including the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel near Tama. Some Iowans
oppose more gambling. "Leave it alone. We don't need any more casinos," said
Ted Snell, 82, of Des Moines, a retired Western Electric worker who was
recently playing slot machines with his wife, Pauline, at Prairie Meadows
Racetrack and Casino in Altoona. He said he was glad state lawmakers last
year banned the Iowa Lottery's TouchPlay machines, which closely resembled
slot machines, because they provided too many opportunities to gamble.
Iowa House Speaker-elect Patrick Murphy, a Dubuque Democrat, said in a
recent interview that he has no plans for a full-blown debate on either
liberalizing or restricting gambling during the upcoming session. He said he
is focusing on other priorities, such as education and the state's business
climate.
"If there is some cleanup stuff, we might want to do it, but I don't want to
say there will be a gambling bill," Murphy said.
State Sen. Jack Kibbie, an Emmetsburg Democrat, said he also doesn't expect
a major debate on gambling, but he believes lawmakers may consider
abolishing a provision adopted in 2004 that requires newly opened riverboat
casinos to have water under their floors. The current rule means riverboats
no longer have to operate on rivers or lakes, but they must be built over
water so they can be considered "moored barges." One example is the $40
million Diamond Jo Worth Casino near Northwood that was constructed above an
artificial basin that is nearly invisible to gamblers except for a wooden
paddle wheel in a small pool near the entrance.
"If you are going to have a land-based casino, why have water under it? I
mean, that's kind of ridiculous," Kibbie said.
Officials seeking casinos said they believe Iowa's gambling industry still
offers a virtual pot of gold to communities in search of jobs and economic
development.
"Having grown up and lived in Fort Dodge all my life, with the exception of
going to school, I think it's an economic tool that we could use here," said
Mark Crimmins, a Fort Dodge lawyer and a leader of the Heart of Iowa
Foundation, a nonprofit group that hopes to obtain a casino license.
"It's a form of entertainment that we don't have here, and I just think it
would help our community," Crimmins said. "We are a retail hub, and I think
that it is just one more piece of the puzzle to help grow the city and the
area."
Tama Mayor Chris Bearden said people in his community are thrilled at the
prospect of launching a riverboat casino, which would operate at Cherry
Lake. He views a local riverboat gambling complex as a complement to the
nearby Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, which averages about 5,000 customers a
day.
"People are asking me what our chances are. They are very excited about it.
All of Tama County is excited about it." Bearden said.
One person who doesn't share such enthusiasm is Tom Coates of Norwalk, an
anti-gambling leader who also heads a credit counseling service.
"More casinos are probably in the offing, given the involvement of certain
individuals on both sides of the political aisle and large campaign
contributions," Coates said. "That's a concern because every casino that
pops up devastates that many more families as it moves into their
backyards."
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