CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission (IRGC) members will get a first-hand look at the site of a potential casino in Cedar Rapids Wednesday.
The commission is scheduled to view the old Cooper’s Mill location, the future site of Iowa’s next casino, should the commission vote next year to award developers a gaming license.
Members on the commission are also scheduled to hear from the public at 10 a.m. at the Hotel at Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids. Click here to find out how to sign up to speak. That meeting will last as long as there are speakers.
Watch the public comment session below.
Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) the company behind the proposal, and the Linn County Gaming Association are asking the commission for a gaming license to operate a new casino in Cedar Rapids. This is the third effort to bring a casino to Linn County in the past decade. The commission rejected bids in 2014 and 2017 citing cannibalization worries, fearing this new casino would take away business from nearby gaming venues.
Officials from the casino in Riverside fear that is still the case. That group is trying to put a pause on the commission from considering the project in Linn County. Officials filed a petition to the IRGC asking them to stop the process, saying Linn County’s 2021 gaming referendum was worded wrong. The commission is set to consider the petition Thursday at their meeting in Burlington.
For now, the commission still has the power to decide for themselves whether or not to grant the license in February. Two vendors have been selected to complete market studies on how a casino could impact the state. Those reports are due at the end of the year.
Some lawmakers have vowed to pass a new gambling moratorium when the Iowa Legislature reconvenes in January. Lawmakers successfully passed a two-year moratorium on casinos in Iowa in 2022, delaying efforts to get this project off the ground. The Iowa House tried to extend that for five years last legislative session but the measure failed in the Iowa Senate.
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