Commission member Kristine Kramer said she had sympathy for Cedar Rapids, as a new casino might help the city continue recovering from the devastating floods that hit the area a decade ago. But she also pointed out that the city had turned down the option to build a casino back in 2003.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be akin to telling a school district that because voters once rejected a bond issue, they shouldn\u2019t be allowed to approve one ever again,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n
Corbett described the commission\u2019s decision as \u201ca big letdown\u201d for his city.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a big disappointment for our community,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of money and a lot of time was spent on the preparation of these applications only to have the same result.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nOn the other hand, existing operators were relieved to learn they wouldn\u2019t be facing new competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was the right decision,\u201d said Dan Kehl, CEO of Elite Casino Resorts (the company which operates the Riverside Casino). \u201cI am glad it is over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters of the projects say they may take another shot of gaining the commission\u2019s approval in 2019 or 2020. At that point, they say, industry conditions may have changed. Perhaps more critically, there will then be new members on the gaming commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission voted 3-2 to reject three proposed casino developments in Cedar Rapids, saying that any new gaming venues would be entering a market that is already saturated. While the regulators called it a difficult decision, and praised the quality of the applications, that wasn\u2019t enough to convince them to authorize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":63464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Rejects Cedar Rapids Casinos<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n