Towns seeking casino licenses want jobs, money for schools

David Pitt

Monday, March 28, 2005 | 10:48 a.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- For seven Iowa counties seeking casino licenses from state regulators, getting permission to build a new casino would be like hitting the lottery jackpot.

Project supporters each tell their own woeful stories about their communities' lost jobs, closed factories, and faded downtowns. They say a casino would revitalize the community, pouring money into nonprofit organizations that support schools, programs for the poor and promote tourism.

"I teach where there are many poor children and at-risk children. I think the nonprofit aspect of this is so important," said Elizabeth Stoltz Peters, an Ottumwa teacher and member of the River Hills Riverboat Authority, the nonprofit organization supporting the Ottumwa casino plan.

"We can do so much for the nonprofits, for the schools, for the arts, for youth programs in addition to the economic growth."

The $38 million project on the Des Moines River would provide 400 jobs, generate around $40 million a year and work in tandem with a new convention center to draw tourists, supporters said.

Some of the projects are multimillion dollar developments that include golf courses, recreational vehicle parks, hotels and restaurants.

"We can really make Waterloo into something," said car dealer John Deery Sr., who supported a casino on the southwest edge of downtown on the Cedar River. "I'd like to see the town revitalized and worked over. It would be great for everybody."

Waterloo and Ottumwa have experienced population loss from factory closings and riverfront downtowns that have deteriorated over the years as retail business closed or moved.

"You can tell how excited these people are and how desperately they are for jobs, economic development and helping their town economically," said Diane Hamilton, chairwoman of the five-member Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which will pick the winners.

Ginger Klepper, a retired community college financial aid officer from Emmetsburg, said failure to get a casino and its 250 jobs to enliven the northwest Iowa town would be disappointing.

"I just feel it would be a really sad day if we don't get the jobs," she said.

Robert Koller, a Washington accountant, believes the proposed casino and golf course in northeast Washington County will draw tourism.

"If it doesn't happen, I think people will be depressed a little bit," Koller said. "We'll survive, obviously, but you only get these chances once in every lifetime."

The project, just outside the town of Riverside, includes an 18-hole golf course, a 200-room hotel and 1,200-seat entertainment venue. It would create 850 jobs and bring in $83 million in its first year.

But it also has its opponents. Brad Franzwa, a medical researcher at the University of Iowa, believes gambling preys on the poor.

He and his family moved to neighboring Johnson county after the casino vote passed. "We didn't move there for that atmosphere and we moved away because of it," he said.

Similar social concerns may prompt commissioner Mike Mahaffey, a Montezuma attorney, to vote against any new licenses.

"People ask me how many would you prefer and the answer, and I've been consistent about this, is zero," he said.

Mahaffey said much of his decision on how many new casinos will be licensed depends on the results of a social and economic impact study ordered by the Legislature. Results are due within the next few weeks.

Mahaffey has resisted expansion of gambling in a state that already has 16 casinos and believes most Iowans oppose more gambling.

"I still think probably the majority of counties in Iowa do not want this," he said.

Commissioners will tour all 10 sites April 6-7 and hold a public hearing on May 4. A final decision is planned for May 11.

Hamilton said some towns likely will be disappointed.

"There are going to be a good number of people that are very pleased and then a great deal of people that are probably going to be disappointed," Hamilton said. "I'm really very sorry about that."