Two studies reveal a proposed casino in Cedar Rapids would shift customers and tens of millions of dollars from nearby casinos in Riverside and Waterloo.
The two studies were commissioned by state gambling regulators who are set to vote in February on the application for the Cedar Crossing casino. Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell points to the parts of both studies indicating the casino would generate over $100 million in revenue by the end of the decade.
“I think competition will help those existing entities be better and that’s what I see in those numbers,” O’Donnell said, “because the numbers I see (show) the market’s ready, the market’s ready here for a casino in the state’s second largest city.”
Patty Koller is the Executive Director of the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, the non-profit that holds the license for the Riverside Casino. She points to parts of the market studies that show new casino could siphon as much as $68 million from its competitors.
“It’s just a distribution of the clientele,” she said. “It’s not a huge advantage to bring in new casino patrons, it’s just distributing the ones that already exist.”
The foundation and Riverside Casino have filed a petition with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, arguing the wording in the 2021 Linn County gambling referendum is flawed, so the Cedar Rapids casino application should be tossed.
(Reporting by James Kelley, Iowa Public Radio)
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