It looks like Iowa may be getting five new casinos in five counties very soon. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission opted to take applications for brand new casinos in the state. Each of those counties has already put this on their ballot and approved gambling in their county. The counties involved are Lyon, Webster, Tama, Wapello, and Franklin Counties. The commission warned each county that if they receive permission to place a casino in their jurisdiction they will have to make a very good case and make sure to have plans in place so they do not affect the profits of other existing casinos in the state.
Iowa hasn’t allowed new applications for casinos for over four years. The most recent licenses were permitted to Waterloo, Emmetsburg, Riverside, and Worth County. At this time there are 17 regulated casinos and race tracks and 2 tribal casinos in the state. During the last year the regulated casinos’ revenue has been way down, and the commission is hoping the addition of several more casinos will boost the slow revenue. The counties have a little time to prepare their applications as they don’t have to be turned in until October 1, 2009. It will probably be 2010 before any of the casinos are approved.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission took into consideration the dire economic position of their state. Approving five more casinos would bring jobs to the state and hopefully give a lift to the economy.
Lyon County has put together a proposal for a $90 million project. This casino would be relatively far from any existing Iowa casino and would not cut into any of their profits. The Lyon county project would be relatively close to another casino in Sioux Falls, SD and leaders there are keeping a wary eye out. Opponents in SD are saying the area is saturated and a new casino in Lyon County could cut into their profits but proponents are sure it would set up a friendly competition that could easily draw gamblers from both states to both casinos. The Lyon County casino would bring about 400 jobs to the area.
The meeting that took place today with over 300 spectators attending will not give these casinos the go ahead. It will only approve their application and then the work starts. All kinds of research will ensue including investigations on the people applying and background investigations on integral staff members. Yet, the race is on to see who can get approval. This was evident by the twenty-five to thirty people at the meeting today sporting bright green shirts in support of Lyon County. Opening the floor to applications doesn’t mean only the five aforementioned counties will apply. There could be other applications as well and this will open a great deal of competitions. New casinos could mean new jobs and a better economy for their area.
The people that live within these counties are desperate for their county’s application to be accepted. All the new jobs that the casinos would provide would cut down the ever-increasing unemployment rate that Iowa is currently facing.
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