Statewide Iowa — The number of Iowa casinos that float on a boat will soon be sinking.
Iowa Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says plans were approved Thursday for the Casino Queen operation in Marquette to move to land.
The first gambling in the state was at horse and dog tracks, and then the Iowa Legislature approved casinos on riverboats in 1989. The regulations changed quite a bit through the years and the trend now has been for casinos to move to land.
Casinos in Davenport and Sioux City are some of the others to move to solid ground. Ohorilkoh says they have seen an immediate improvement in gaming revenue and attendance in operations that move from a boat to land.
The Racing and Gaming Commission also approved a 31 million-dollar remodeling plan for Harvey’s in Council Bluffs that he says will include several upgrades.
And the Commission approved phase one of a multi-million dollar renovation plan for the Q Casino in Dubuque. Ohorilko says the upgrades are needed in part due to new competition from others states. He says Harvey’s is a good example of that.
He says the non-gaming amenities have become an important part of the casinos widening their draw and competing with other states.
