Plans for the construction of a boutique casino in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa emerged earlier this week. The project was proposed by West Des Moines-based casino operator Wild Rose Resorts and if approved, it would cost about $40 million to be materialized.
The Wild Rose Cedar Rapids plan is much smaller in scale than the $174-million Cedar Crossing Casino project that was rejected by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in 2014 out of fears that if built, the gambling complex would cannibalize revenues from surrounding casino properties.
Following the news about Wild Rose Resorts’ endeavor, Council Bluffs officials expressed their support for the project, stating that the boutique casino would have little or no impact at all on nearby counterparts. Located not far from Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs currently hosts two casinos.
What is more, Jill Beasley, Marketing Director for Horseshoe and Harrah’s casinos in Council Bluffs, also noted that the Cedar Rapids venue is not likely to have any negative impact on their revenue as most of their gambling patrons arrive from the Council Bluffs-Omaha metro area.
Wild Rose Cedar Rapids would feature a parking lot on the first floor, the actual casino on the second floor, and commercial space on the third and fourth floors of the building the complex would be located in. No hotels, restaurants, or entertainment venues would be added at this point. In other words, the venue will be only focused on the provision of gambling options. The casino floor will feature up to 700 slot machines and between 15 to 20 table games.
Although the proposal seems to have gained support from local officials, it may be a bit difficult for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to be persuaded that a new casino would not impact negatively the state’s already saturated market. Wild Rose Resorts has a bit more time to prepare an adequate and convincing enough proposal for the purpose.
As mentioned above, the state casino regulator rejected a larger-scale casino plan for Cedar Rapids, stating that it would steal customers from existing venues in the region. In addition, an informal three-year moratorium on casino applications was imposed after the Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson was licensed by gambling officials in 2014. The moratorium is set to expire in 2017 and it will not be before next year when the Cedar Rapids project could be forwarded to the gambling commission.
