Monday, March 05, 2007

State gambling regulators have agreed to delay until next year a debate on
whether to issue new licenses allowing additional casinos in the state. The
Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission decided unanimously Thursday that more
time is needed to assess the financial performance of four new casinos that
were granted licenses in 2005 before deciding if the state can support
additional casinos. Three of the casinos which received licenses have
already opened -- in Worth County, Emmetsburg and Riverside. A fourth casino
in Waterloo has faced repeated construction delays and is not expected to
open until summer, officials said. Commission head Kate Cutler, of Council
Bluffs, said she doesn't expect the panel to take up the issue of additional
licenses until at least January. Even if the panel decided to consider
applications for new licenses, a timeline for considering them likely would
stretch until March of 2008, she said. Officials from Ottumwa, Fort Dodge
and Tama have all expressed interest in applying for a casino license. Iowa
currently has 19 casinos, which took in more than $1.1. billion last year.
The Waterloo complex will be the 20th.