- Riverboat Gambling On The Mississippi
- Riverboat Cruises With Gambling
- Riverboat Gambling In Iowa
- Riverboat Gambling Indiana
Bob and Ruth Kehl, operators of one of Iowa`s most successful riverboat casinos, stunned this Mississippi River town last month by abruptly announcing plans to sell their Casino Belle to a Missouri group, leaving 480 local employees high and dry as of March 31, 1993.
The Riverboat Cruise In Iowa You Never Knew Existed. Everyone is familiar with the traditional ocean cruise. It's an amazing way to see the vast open waters, enjoy great food, relax, and maybe even catch a glimpse of wildlife. You may not know that you can get that same experience, on a smaller and more local scale, right here in Iowa. Fort Madison, Iowa The Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino at Ft. Madison, IA, is a nice Mississippi River style riverboat, but temporarily closed at this time. City of New Orleans, ex Jumer's Casino (New Orleans, LA) For a long time this boat was called 'Jumer's Casino' and was serving, well, as a floating casino. Iowa was admitted to the union as the 29th state on Dec. As a Midwestern state, Iowa forms a bridge between the forests of the east and the. Across the river in Rock Island, Illinois, Jumer's CASINO ROCK ISLAND, one of the most lovely of all the casino boats built, was treating Illinois passengers to 'unlimited gaming' while Iowa had an.
A mom-and-pop business partnership for 32 years, the Kehls had come a long way since Richardson`s Root Beer Stand, where they first met behind the counter, and from Roberts Smorgastable and its 'Forty Feet of Fine Food.'
They reluctantly got into riverboat gambling, but they became millionaires several times over. Now, the Kehls are bailing out. Bob`s health is poor and so is that of Iowa`s riverboat gambling industry, they said.
'It`s been a wonderful experience that I wouldn`t have wanted to miss, but you`ve got to know when to hold `em, and know when to fold `em,' Ruth said.
It says a great deal for the Kehls` reputations and for the tenuous state of Iowa`s gambling boat industry that few in Dubuque seem to have harsh words for their decision to sell the town`s No. 1 tourist attraction.
The local newspaper forgave them: 'Purely from a business standpoint, it`s hard to fault Kehl for agreeing to sell the boat,' said an editorial in Dubuque`s Telegraph-Herald newspaper.
The Chamber of Commerce gave its blessing: 'You could tell this was the hardest decision of their lives. I don`t blame them a bit. They`ve put Dubuque on the map and I think they should be commended,' said Marilee Harrman, whose Dubuque Convention and Visitors Bureau stands to lose its biggest draw because of the Kehls` bailout.
Even the Kehls` employees seemed to understand. 'People realize their point of view on this,' said Gary Smith, a Casino Belle blackjack dealer who, like all employees, will receive two months` severance pay.
The couple, who first rose from Dubuque`s working class by serving big meals at low prices, escaped condemnation because they are as much a part of this town as its religious institutions, its river bluffs and its blue-collar bars.
The Kehls` is the third Iowa gambling boat to weigh anchor and move to less competitive waters in only the second year of riverboat gambling in the state. The first two casino boats left in August. Both were owned by Steamboat Casino River Cruises in Bettendorf and operated in the Quad Cities area, where four boats were in operation, making competition fierce. They lost more than $7 million in the first year.
About 70 miles to the north, however, the Kehls` boat was highly successful. They paid off all debt-about $17 million-on the Casino Belle and their Portside building after the first year. And the city fully recouped its own $4 million investment in improvements on its riverfront in just six months.
The Casino Belle returned a net profit of more than $6 million its first year. The first half of its second year was less successful though still highly profitable, but prospects darkened this spring with the arrival of competition across the river in East Dubuque, where the sleek Silver Eagle was launched under Illinois` no-limit gaming laws. (Iowans are limited to $5 wagers and can lose no more than $200 on each excursion.)
Bob Kehl believes that Iowa cannot compete head-to-head with unrestricted boats across the river, or with casino gambling in Minnesota where American Indian tribes are luring gamblers with giveaways that include meals, hotels, wristwatches and even up to $100 in free gambling chips.
'We did very well in our first year because we had no competition,' he said. 'We thought we`d have at least three years to get established, but Illinois moved more quickly with their boats than we thought they would and when the Indian reservations in Minnesota started doing well with their casinos, they began going after our tour bus business.
'We used to get 80 buses on a Saturday; now we`re lucky to get 20. We`d be glad to compete head-to-head, but it is not a level playing field.'
Irons in the fire
Nevertheless, Dubuque officials are scrambling to line up a replacement boat. The town is advertising for investors on Wall Street and in Europe and Asia.
'A lot of Saudi Arabian investors work out of London, so we`re advertising there,' said Harrman. 'And in 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to being a territory of China. A lot of wealthy people there are looking to invest their money elsewhere. We figure those are the sort of people who like to gamble.'
Dubuquers are gambling that their legislature will see the error of its ways and lift gaming restrictions for the new owners, Harrman said. 'There are a lot of irons in the fire right now,' she noted.
The family plans to continue running its smaller casino boat in Clinton, Iowa, where there is less direct competition. The only other remaining Iowa riverboat is the President, which operates out of Davenport and earned $6.6 million in 1991, its first year. The new owners of the Casino Belle hope to operate in the St. Louis area, if Missouri passes riverboat gambling legislation.
'The river casino business has been good to us,' Bob Kehl said, 'but I predict if the state doesn`t do something, Iowa will be out of it in two years.'
`We`re both workaholics`
It has become an oft-told tale around here that Bob and Ruth Kehl were dragged kicking and screaming into riverboat gambling in the first place.
'We`re both workaholics and we each have our areas of expertise,' said Ruth, who is the inside boss to Bob`s outside boss. 'Our motto is that if two people are doing the same job, one of them is not needed.'
They met behind the counter at Richardson`s Root Beer Stand in Sigourney, Iowa, a few miles from Ruth`s family farm outside Brighton. Ruth, eight years Bob`s junior, was a high school carhop. Bob, the son of a pattern maker at the East Dubuque Foundry, had just finished a military service hitch and was running the joint for the summer.
Love came in short order. They were engaged a year later and bought their own restaurant in Dubuque right after the wedding. Tony`s Cafe had a dozen stools and a loyal clientele for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Riverboat Gambling On The Mississippi
Trials by fire and water
In 1965, the Kehls expanded their thriving diner into what was for years a Dubuque institution-Roberts Smorgastable, which boasted 'Forty Feet of Fine Food.' Located downtown near the waterfront, the business endured trials by fire and water. A grease fire nearly burned it out in its first year. The Kehls remodeled and reopened, only to be hit the next spring with the worst river flood in Dubuque`s history.
Their 40 feet of fine food was about 10 feet underwater for a week, but when the Mississippi receded, the Kehls went back to work and reopened. 'The smorgasbord was slave labor,' Bob recalled. 'But it prepared us. Every morning we got up and we gambled that we`d make it another day.'
The Kehls heaped helpings on their customers and their business endured and thrived, in part through their dogged labors and due also to throngs of tourists delivered to them by the Burlington Northern Railroad.
Bold move in hard times
Excursion trains from Chicago brought thousands of summer visitors into Galena and Dubuque in the late 1960s. A riverboat tour operator lured the tourists to the waterfront and the Kehls fed most of them.
When the railroad cut off its tour train and the riverboat left town in 1970, the Kehls responded by buying their own boat, the River Rogue. They pulled in passengers by advertising all over the Midwest and enticing tour bus companies to make stops in Dubuque.
In 1976, they built their first riverboat to their design, the Spirit of Dubuque. They launched it in the midst of a recession and with no little scoffing from those who thought it would never float in such hard times.
Their concept of prime-rib dinner cruises proved to be a big hit with tour groups, and in the 1980s the Kehls added two more cruise boats to their fleet. In 1984 their Roberts River Rides cruise business was named Iowa`s No. 1 tourist attraction for that year. In 1986, the Kehls were recipients of the National Small Business Persons of the Year Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
'They almost didn`t even get into nomination because Bob didn`t want to give out any of his profit figures,' said family friend R.D. McDonald, who nominated the Kehls. 'They won over a lot of major high-tech entrepreneurs from around the country. Here he was, a riverboat operator in Dubuque, and people kept asking, `Where is there water in Iowa?` '
It was the first time a husband and wife team had received the award, McDonald said, and they earned it in equal measure.
'They are both pure entrepreneurs,' he said. 'And they are also extremely hard workers,' he added. 'Even now, if the staff is having trouble clearing dishes, Bob gets right into the middle of it and Ruth is the same way.'
Reluctant players win
The Kehls spent 17 years building a highly successful, family-run and family-oriented cruise boat business, and when the idea of riverboat gambling arose, they fought it bitterly. They knew their tour boats would be sunk by the flashier gambling vessels.
'We fought it, but when we lost, we had to get in it,' said Bob Kehl. When the legislation passed, the Kehls tossed away their protest signs and signed an application for their own gambling boat. They not only joined the new tourism industry, but became leaders.
The Kehls` first-year attendance projection of 277,000 passengers was exceeded in 4 1/2 months. The Casino Belle carried 649,555 passengers and collected $20,343,136 in gambling revenue in its first year. Three new hotels went up in Dubuque. Bob and Ruth announced plans a year ago to add another, even bigger, boat to their gambling fleet.
Then three things happened to make them reconsider, the couple said. Illinois launched its no-limit gambling boats faster than the Iowa limited-gambling boat owners had anticipated. A buyer showed up out of the blue and offered the Kehls $17 million for their Casino Belle-a $5 million appreciation in less than two years.
And Bob, who is 58, began to weaken physically because of his diabetic condition. A few weeks ago, his doctors ordered Kehl to reduce the stress in his life or risk ending it. That is a gamble the family is not about to take. Looking for less stress
'We`re sort of like farmers,' Ruth joked. 'We`ve worked our whole lives and by the time we sell out and make our money, we`re ready for the grave.'
The bet in town is that the Kehls, who still operate excursion boats in Dubuque and LeClaire, Iowa, will be back into some sort of less stressful new enterprise within a few weeks-if not hours-of the Casino Belle`s departure from Dubuque.
'I`m sure we`ll end up with another problem of some kind,' Ruth said.
'Money never meant as much to us as the challenge of building something. We live the same now as we did 30 years ago.'
There have been some upgrades. They drive his and her Cadillacs. And just a year ago, the couple finally bought a house in an affluent area long admired by Bob Kehl. It sits high on the bluff, overlooking the river.
'When we had the restaurant, I used to feed the people who lived up there and I`d think, `Boy, it would be nice to have a house in that area,`
' he said.
'Anybody can get up there, I believe that. But they can`t do it working just 40 hours a week.'
March 8, 1990, the Commission granted excursion boat gambling licenses to the following entities (Qualified Sponsoring Organization/Excursion Boat Operator):
- Dubuque Racing Association/Dubuque Casino Belle Inc., who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the Dubuque Casino Belle in Dubuque.
- Southeast Iowa Regional Authority/Steamboat Southeast, Inc., who began operation on May 10, 1991 as Emerald Lady, serving Burlington, Ft. Madison and Keokuk.
- Riverbend Regional Authority/Steamboat Development Corporation, who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the Diamond Lady in Bettendorf.
- Riverboat Development Authority/The Connelly Group. L.P., who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the President in Davenport.
- Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Missouri Riverboat Associates, L.P. in Sioux City. After failing to secure financing, their license was revoked by the Commission October 1, 1990.
November 27, 1990, an excursion boat gambling license was granted to the Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Steamboat Sioux City Inc., who voluntarily surrendered their license on March 26, 1992.
January 17, 1991, an excursion boat gambling license was granted to the Clinton County Gaming Association/Mississippi Belle II, Inc., who began operation on June 12, 1991 as the Mississippi Belle II in Clinton.
November 27, 1991, Prairie Meadows filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The Final Order was issued on May 17, 1993 bringing them out of Bankruptcy.
May of 1992, legislation was enacted removing the live performance requirement for simulcast wagering at pari-mutuel facilities. In 1994, that legislation was amended requiring at least sixty performances of nine live races each day of the season in order for simulcasting to occur.
Excursion boat gambling referendums were approved on August 20, 1991 in Allamakee County and on October 15, 1991 in Clayton County.
During 1992, the Director of the Department of Inspections and Appeals negotiated three Native American Indian tribal gaming compacts for the Governor. The Commission has no regulatory or oversight responsibility for the compacts.
- The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska began operation of WinnaVegas Casino near Sloan on April 30, 1992.
- The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska began operation of CasinOmaha near Onawa on June 22, 1992.
- The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa began operation of Meskwaki Bingo and Casino near Tama on December 31, 1992.
In July of 1992, the licensees serving Bettendorf and Burlington/Ft Madison/ Keokuk ceased operations leaving three operating excursion boat licensees in Iowa.
July 2, 1992, a three year license was granted to the Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Sioux City Riverboat Corp., who began operation as the Sioux City Sue in Sioux City on January 29, 1993.
An excursion boat gambling referendum was approved on November 3, 1992 in Polk County.
In March of 1993, the licensee serving Dubuque ceased operation leaving three operating excursion boat licensees in: Clinton, Davenport and Sioux City. However, that same month a license was granted to the Dubuque Racing Association/Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Company, L.C., who began operation as the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque on May 18, 1994.
September 16, 1993, an excursion boat license was denied to Summit Riverboat Casinos Sioux City, Inc./Missouri River Historical Development, Inc.
December 10, 1993, National Cattle Congress, Inc. (Waterloo Greyhound Park) filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The Final Order issued on June 26, 1996 brought them out of Bankruptcy.
January 20, 1994, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to the Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Corporation/Catfish Bend Casinos L.C., who began operation as Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington/Ft. Madison on November 16, 1994.
Legislation was enacted in March of 1994:
- Removing the $200/day loss limit and the maximum $5/hand wager.
- Requiring an additional local referendum in counties already authorized for excursion boat gambling to allow for unlimited wagers and removal of the loss limits.
- Raising the age restriction for wagering from 18 to 21 (persons 18 and older may be employed in a gambling area).
- Allowing for certain gambling games at racetrack enclosures existing on January 1, 1994 subject to a local referendum.
- Changing the minimum passenger capacity of an excursion gambling boat from 500 to 250 persons.
- Eliminating the requirement that no more than 30% of the square footage of the vessel be used for gambling.
- Requiring that if a proposition to operate gambling games on an excursion gambling boat or at a racetrack enclosure is approved by a majority of the county electorate voting on the proposition, the board of supervisors shall submit the same proposition at the general election held in 2002 and, unless the operation of gambling games is not terminated earlier, at the general election held at each subsequent eight-year interval.
- Allowing for the use of nickels and quarters for wagering.
- Eliminating the prohibition against gambling while dockside.
- Changing the wagering tax to fund the Gambler's Treatment Program from three percent to three-tenths of one percent of the adjusted gross revenue.
- Removing boarding restrictions and allowed the Commission to set the minimum number of excursions and excursion times.
- Allowing licensees to conduct gambling on a 24 hour a day basis.
Gambling game referendums were held in the following counties in 1994:
- May 10 - Clinton and Clayton Counties (approved)
- May 17 - Lee, Des Moines, Woodbury, and Scott (approved)
- May 17 - Dubuque and Pottawattamie (approved both racetrack and boat)
- May 17 - Black Hawk (racetrack enclosure-failed) Polk (racetrack enclosure-approved)
- July 12 - Jackson (approved)
- September 27 - Black Hawk (racetrack enclosure-failed)
- November 8 - Polk ( excursion boat failed)
Excursion gambling boat licensees began unlimited gambling in June of 1994.
May 11, 1994, a lease agreement and a stock sale agreement between Sioux City Riverboat Corporation, Inc. and Gaming Development Group were approved.
November 18, 1994, excursion gambling boat licenses were granted to the Marquette Gaming Corporation/Gamblers Supply Management Company, who began operation as the Miss Marquette on December 26, 1994 in Marquette and to the Missouri River Historical Development Inc./Belle of Sioux City, L.P., began operation as the Belle of Sioux City on December 1, 1994 in Sioux City. The Sioux City Riverboat Corporation ceased operation at that time. In 1996, Marquette Gaming Corporation changed its name to Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation.
January 18, 1995, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to Riverbend Regional Authority/Lady Luck Bettendorf, L.C., who began operation as Lady Luck on April 21, 1995 in Bettendorf. It had been approximately three years since Bettendorf was last served by a riverboat.
January 20, 1995, excursion gambling boat licenses were granted to Iowa West Racing Association/Harvey's Iowa Management Company, Inc., who began operation as Harveys Casino Hotel on January 1, 1996 and Iowa West Racing Association/Ameristar Council Bluffs Inc., who began operation as Ameristar Casino on January 19, 1996, both located in Council Bluffs. Four licenses were denied in the Council Bluffs area: President Riverboat Casino-Carter Lake, Inc./Pottawattamie County Gaming Association; Boomtown Iowa, L.C./Iowa West Racing Association; Iowa Par-A-Dice, L.P./Iowa West Racing Association; and Abbott L.C.-MOM Inc./Pottawattamie County Gaming Association.
Riverboat Cruises With Gambling
An excursion boat gambling referendum was approved on February 28, 1995 in Clarke County.
The family plans to continue running its smaller casino boat in Clinton, Iowa, where there is less direct competition. The only other remaining Iowa riverboat is the President, which operates out of Davenport and earned $6.6 million in 1991, its first year. The new owners of the Casino Belle hope to operate in the St. Louis area, if Missouri passes riverboat gambling legislation.
'The river casino business has been good to us,' Bob Kehl said, 'but I predict if the state doesn`t do something, Iowa will be out of it in two years.'
`We`re both workaholics`
It has become an oft-told tale around here that Bob and Ruth Kehl were dragged kicking and screaming into riverboat gambling in the first place.
'We`re both workaholics and we each have our areas of expertise,' said Ruth, who is the inside boss to Bob`s outside boss. 'Our motto is that if two people are doing the same job, one of them is not needed.'
They met behind the counter at Richardson`s Root Beer Stand in Sigourney, Iowa, a few miles from Ruth`s family farm outside Brighton. Ruth, eight years Bob`s junior, was a high school carhop. Bob, the son of a pattern maker at the East Dubuque Foundry, had just finished a military service hitch and was running the joint for the summer.
Love came in short order. They were engaged a year later and bought their own restaurant in Dubuque right after the wedding. Tony`s Cafe had a dozen stools and a loyal clientele for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Riverboat Gambling On The Mississippi
Trials by fire and water
In 1965, the Kehls expanded their thriving diner into what was for years a Dubuque institution-Roberts Smorgastable, which boasted 'Forty Feet of Fine Food.' Located downtown near the waterfront, the business endured trials by fire and water. A grease fire nearly burned it out in its first year. The Kehls remodeled and reopened, only to be hit the next spring with the worst river flood in Dubuque`s history.
Their 40 feet of fine food was about 10 feet underwater for a week, but when the Mississippi receded, the Kehls went back to work and reopened. 'The smorgasbord was slave labor,' Bob recalled. 'But it prepared us. Every morning we got up and we gambled that we`d make it another day.'
The Kehls heaped helpings on their customers and their business endured and thrived, in part through their dogged labors and due also to throngs of tourists delivered to them by the Burlington Northern Railroad.
Bold move in hard times
Excursion trains from Chicago brought thousands of summer visitors into Galena and Dubuque in the late 1960s. A riverboat tour operator lured the tourists to the waterfront and the Kehls fed most of them.
When the railroad cut off its tour train and the riverboat left town in 1970, the Kehls responded by buying their own boat, the River Rogue. They pulled in passengers by advertising all over the Midwest and enticing tour bus companies to make stops in Dubuque.
In 1976, they built their first riverboat to their design, the Spirit of Dubuque. They launched it in the midst of a recession and with no little scoffing from those who thought it would never float in such hard times.
Their concept of prime-rib dinner cruises proved to be a big hit with tour groups, and in the 1980s the Kehls added two more cruise boats to their fleet. In 1984 their Roberts River Rides cruise business was named Iowa`s No. 1 tourist attraction for that year. In 1986, the Kehls were recipients of the National Small Business Persons of the Year Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
'They almost didn`t even get into nomination because Bob didn`t want to give out any of his profit figures,' said family friend R.D. McDonald, who nominated the Kehls. 'They won over a lot of major high-tech entrepreneurs from around the country. Here he was, a riverboat operator in Dubuque, and people kept asking, `Where is there water in Iowa?` '
It was the first time a husband and wife team had received the award, McDonald said, and they earned it in equal measure.
'They are both pure entrepreneurs,' he said. 'And they are also extremely hard workers,' he added. 'Even now, if the staff is having trouble clearing dishes, Bob gets right into the middle of it and Ruth is the same way.'
Reluctant players win
The Kehls spent 17 years building a highly successful, family-run and family-oriented cruise boat business, and when the idea of riverboat gambling arose, they fought it bitterly. They knew their tour boats would be sunk by the flashier gambling vessels.
'We fought it, but when we lost, we had to get in it,' said Bob Kehl. When the legislation passed, the Kehls tossed away their protest signs and signed an application for their own gambling boat. They not only joined the new tourism industry, but became leaders.
The Kehls` first-year attendance projection of 277,000 passengers was exceeded in 4 1/2 months. The Casino Belle carried 649,555 passengers and collected $20,343,136 in gambling revenue in its first year. Three new hotels went up in Dubuque. Bob and Ruth announced plans a year ago to add another, even bigger, boat to their gambling fleet.
Then three things happened to make them reconsider, the couple said. Illinois launched its no-limit gambling boats faster than the Iowa limited-gambling boat owners had anticipated. A buyer showed up out of the blue and offered the Kehls $17 million for their Casino Belle-a $5 million appreciation in less than two years.
And Bob, who is 58, began to weaken physically because of his diabetic condition. A few weeks ago, his doctors ordered Kehl to reduce the stress in his life or risk ending it. That is a gamble the family is not about to take. Looking for less stress
'We`re sort of like farmers,' Ruth joked. 'We`ve worked our whole lives and by the time we sell out and make our money, we`re ready for the grave.'
The bet in town is that the Kehls, who still operate excursion boats in Dubuque and LeClaire, Iowa, will be back into some sort of less stressful new enterprise within a few weeks-if not hours-of the Casino Belle`s departure from Dubuque.
'I`m sure we`ll end up with another problem of some kind,' Ruth said.
'Money never meant as much to us as the challenge of building something. We live the same now as we did 30 years ago.'
There have been some upgrades. They drive his and her Cadillacs. And just a year ago, the couple finally bought a house in an affluent area long admired by Bob Kehl. It sits high on the bluff, overlooking the river.
'When we had the restaurant, I used to feed the people who lived up there and I`d think, `Boy, it would be nice to have a house in that area,`
' he said.
'Anybody can get up there, I believe that. But they can`t do it working just 40 hours a week.'
March 8, 1990, the Commission granted excursion boat gambling licenses to the following entities (Qualified Sponsoring Organization/Excursion Boat Operator):
- Dubuque Racing Association/Dubuque Casino Belle Inc., who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the Dubuque Casino Belle in Dubuque.
- Southeast Iowa Regional Authority/Steamboat Southeast, Inc., who began operation on May 10, 1991 as Emerald Lady, serving Burlington, Ft. Madison and Keokuk.
- Riverbend Regional Authority/Steamboat Development Corporation, who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the Diamond Lady in Bettendorf.
- Riverboat Development Authority/The Connelly Group. L.P., who began operation on April 1, 1991 as the President in Davenport.
- Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Missouri Riverboat Associates, L.P. in Sioux City. After failing to secure financing, their license was revoked by the Commission October 1, 1990.
November 27, 1990, an excursion boat gambling license was granted to the Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Steamboat Sioux City Inc., who voluntarily surrendered their license on March 26, 1992.
January 17, 1991, an excursion boat gambling license was granted to the Clinton County Gaming Association/Mississippi Belle II, Inc., who began operation on June 12, 1991 as the Mississippi Belle II in Clinton.
November 27, 1991, Prairie Meadows filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The Final Order was issued on May 17, 1993 bringing them out of Bankruptcy.
May of 1992, legislation was enacted removing the live performance requirement for simulcast wagering at pari-mutuel facilities. In 1994, that legislation was amended requiring at least sixty performances of nine live races each day of the season in order for simulcasting to occur.
Excursion boat gambling referendums were approved on August 20, 1991 in Allamakee County and on October 15, 1991 in Clayton County.
During 1992, the Director of the Department of Inspections and Appeals negotiated three Native American Indian tribal gaming compacts for the Governor. The Commission has no regulatory or oversight responsibility for the compacts.
- The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska began operation of WinnaVegas Casino near Sloan on April 30, 1992.
- The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska began operation of CasinOmaha near Onawa on June 22, 1992.
- The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa began operation of Meskwaki Bingo and Casino near Tama on December 31, 1992.
In July of 1992, the licensees serving Bettendorf and Burlington/Ft Madison/ Keokuk ceased operations leaving three operating excursion boat licensees in Iowa.
July 2, 1992, a three year license was granted to the Missouri River Historical Development, Inc./Sioux City Riverboat Corp., who began operation as the Sioux City Sue in Sioux City on January 29, 1993.
An excursion boat gambling referendum was approved on November 3, 1992 in Polk County.
In March of 1993, the licensee serving Dubuque ceased operation leaving three operating excursion boat licensees in: Clinton, Davenport and Sioux City. However, that same month a license was granted to the Dubuque Racing Association/Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Company, L.C., who began operation as the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque on May 18, 1994.
September 16, 1993, an excursion boat license was denied to Summit Riverboat Casinos Sioux City, Inc./Missouri River Historical Development, Inc.
December 10, 1993, National Cattle Congress, Inc. (Waterloo Greyhound Park) filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The Final Order issued on June 26, 1996 brought them out of Bankruptcy.
January 20, 1994, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to the Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Corporation/Catfish Bend Casinos L.C., who began operation as Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington/Ft. Madison on November 16, 1994.
Legislation was enacted in March of 1994:
- Removing the $200/day loss limit and the maximum $5/hand wager.
- Requiring an additional local referendum in counties already authorized for excursion boat gambling to allow for unlimited wagers and removal of the loss limits.
- Raising the age restriction for wagering from 18 to 21 (persons 18 and older may be employed in a gambling area).
- Allowing for certain gambling games at racetrack enclosures existing on January 1, 1994 subject to a local referendum.
- Changing the minimum passenger capacity of an excursion gambling boat from 500 to 250 persons.
- Eliminating the requirement that no more than 30% of the square footage of the vessel be used for gambling.
- Requiring that if a proposition to operate gambling games on an excursion gambling boat or at a racetrack enclosure is approved by a majority of the county electorate voting on the proposition, the board of supervisors shall submit the same proposition at the general election held in 2002 and, unless the operation of gambling games is not terminated earlier, at the general election held at each subsequent eight-year interval.
- Allowing for the use of nickels and quarters for wagering.
- Eliminating the prohibition against gambling while dockside.
- Changing the wagering tax to fund the Gambler's Treatment Program from three percent to three-tenths of one percent of the adjusted gross revenue.
- Removing boarding restrictions and allowed the Commission to set the minimum number of excursions and excursion times.
- Allowing licensees to conduct gambling on a 24 hour a day basis.
Gambling game referendums were held in the following counties in 1994:
- May 10 - Clinton and Clayton Counties (approved)
- May 17 - Lee, Des Moines, Woodbury, and Scott (approved)
- May 17 - Dubuque and Pottawattamie (approved both racetrack and boat)
- May 17 - Black Hawk (racetrack enclosure-failed) Polk (racetrack enclosure-approved)
- July 12 - Jackson (approved)
- September 27 - Black Hawk (racetrack enclosure-failed)
- November 8 - Polk ( excursion boat failed)
Excursion gambling boat licensees began unlimited gambling in June of 1994.
May 11, 1994, a lease agreement and a stock sale agreement between Sioux City Riverboat Corporation, Inc. and Gaming Development Group were approved.
November 18, 1994, excursion gambling boat licenses were granted to the Marquette Gaming Corporation/Gamblers Supply Management Company, who began operation as the Miss Marquette on December 26, 1994 in Marquette and to the Missouri River Historical Development Inc./Belle of Sioux City, L.P., began operation as the Belle of Sioux City on December 1, 1994 in Sioux City. The Sioux City Riverboat Corporation ceased operation at that time. In 1996, Marquette Gaming Corporation changed its name to Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation.
January 18, 1995, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to Riverbend Regional Authority/Lady Luck Bettendorf, L.C., who began operation as Lady Luck on April 21, 1995 in Bettendorf. It had been approximately three years since Bettendorf was last served by a riverboat.
January 20, 1995, excursion gambling boat licenses were granted to Iowa West Racing Association/Harvey's Iowa Management Company, Inc., who began operation as Harveys Casino Hotel on January 1, 1996 and Iowa West Racing Association/Ameristar Council Bluffs Inc., who began operation as Ameristar Casino on January 19, 1996, both located in Council Bluffs. Four licenses were denied in the Council Bluffs area: President Riverboat Casino-Carter Lake, Inc./Pottawattamie County Gaming Association; Boomtown Iowa, L.C./Iowa West Racing Association; Iowa Par-A-Dice, L.P./Iowa West Racing Association; and Abbott L.C.-MOM Inc./Pottawattamie County Gaming Association.
Riverboat Cruises With Gambling
An excursion boat gambling referendum was approved on February 28, 1995 in Clarke County.
February 28, 1995, a gambling games racetrack enclosure license was granted to Iowa West Racing Association, who began operation as Bluffs Run Casino on March 15, 1995 in its Council Bluffs facility.
Riverboat Gambling In Iowa
Also on February 28, 1995, a gambling games racetrack enclosure license was granted to Racing Association of Central Iowa, who began operation as Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino on April 1, 1995 in its Altoona facility.
In July of 1995, legislation was enacted requiring the Commission to cooperate with the gamblers assistance program and to incorporate information regarding the program and its toll-free telephone number in printed materials distributed by the Commission. It also provided that, as a condition of licensing, the Commission could require licensees to have the information available in a conspicuous place.
July 20, 1995, a gambling games racetrack enclosure license was granted to Dubuque Racing Association, who began operation as Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino on November 22, 1995 in its Dubuque facility.
July 20, 1995, an excursion gambling boat license was denied for Clarke County Development Corporation/Argosy of Iowa, Inc. in Osceola.
November 16, 1995, the racing dates of February 25, 1995 – April 21, 1996 were denied to the National Cattle Congress. On January 30, 1996, the racing dates of February 14 – April 21, 1996 were denied and on March 7, 1996, a pari-mutuel wagering license was denied for the National Cattle Congress. Operations ceased at Waterloo Greyhound Park on July 13, 1996 in Waterloo.
April 18, 1996, an excursion gambling boat license was denied for ILLIAMO/Midwest Gaming in Keokuk.
June 20, 1996, SODAK Gaming Inc. was approved to purchase the Gamblers Supply Management Company, the licensed excursion gambling boat operator at Marquette.
Riverboat Gambling Indiana
An excursion boat gambling referendum failed on November 5, 1996 in Dallas County.
April 8, 1997, an excursion gambling boat license was denied for Clarke County Development Corporation/Argosy of Iowa, Inc. in Osceola.
A second excursion boat gambling referendum was approved on November 18, 1997, in Clarke County.
November 20,1997, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to Clarke County Development Corporation/Southern Iowa Gaming Company, who began operations on January 1, 2000 as Lakeside Casino Resort.
October 22, 1998, the Commission approved the change in ownership from Harveys Casino Resorts, parent company of Harveys Iowa Management Company, Inc., to Colony Investors III, L.P. and Colony HCR VoteCo, L.L.C.
January 21, 1999, the Commission approved the sale of assets from the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Co. (Dubuque Diamond Jo) to AB Capital, L.L.C.
May 20, 1999, an excursion boat license was granted to the Dubuque Racing Association/Peninsula Gaming Company, L.L.C. (name changed from AB Capital, L.L.C.) to operate a riverboat in Dubuque. The change in ownership of the operation of the Diamond Jo was effective on July 15, 1999.
September 23, 1999, the Commission approved the purchase of Bluffs Run physical structure from Southwest Iowa Foundation by Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA); the purchase and sale agreement and joint escrow instructions by and between HBR Realty Company, Inc., and IWRA; Lease by and between HBR Realty Company, Inc., and IWRA; and the Management Agreement between Harveys BR Management Company, Inc. and IWRA.
October 21, 1999, an excursion gambling boat license was granted to the Upper Mississippi Gaming Corp./Lady Luck Marquette, Inc., to operate a riverboat in Marquette. The change in ownership of the operation was effective on October 30, 1999. Lady Luck Gaming Corporation purchased the stock of Gamblers Supply Management Company.