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State may consider more casino licenses
Message was posted: 04:22 Sep 1st, 2006

User: RoDa77 Rank: Member Casino Gold: 170CG Contributor rating: 20281 Status: Offline http://www.DynamiteGambling.com/ Since I cant be a good example, I guess I will be a horrible warning!

Courtesy of: http://www.crgazette.com A little more than a year after approving four new casino licenses, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission says it will begin talks next year on the possibility of issuing additional licenses. Member of the commission said they'll begin discussions in March. The commission most recently approved four new casino licenses for Emmetsburg, Riverside, Waterloo and Worth County, bringing the number of state-licensed casinos to 17. At the time, the commission denied licenses for three other cities. However, members promised to revisit the issue of granting more licenses in 18 to 24 months. "The discussion at the March meeting is not for the putting in of applications, it's for us as a commission, in front of all of you, having a discussion about where we think we want to go with this and what we think would be an appropriate timeline," commission chairwoman Kate Cutler, of Council Bluffs, said during a meeting Thursday in Johnston. The commission's meeting coincided with the opening of a new casino at Riverside, about 12 miles south of Iowa City. Reopening talks about casino licenses could launch another battle between gambling proponents who say casinos are a boon to local economies and a valuable source of state taxes, and anti-gambling activists who say they increase crime and hurt Iowans. Rep. Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines, said he hopes Iowans will oppose the granting of any new licenses. "I think gambling is a parasitic industry that will one day collapse under its own weight. But I would rather not get to that point," he said. According to Commissioner Gerald Bair, of Ankeny, March is a good time to begin talks because the casinos with new licenses will be up and running, or close to it. Last month, a Tama County group came forward with an idea for a state-licensed casino, which would be separate from the casino on an American Indian reservation there. Voters in the county will consider a referendum in November on whether to allow a new casino.