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Only Lyon County Gets Approval From Iowa Gaming Regulators

Posted on May 17th, 2010

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The Lyon County project was the only one approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Thursday. All the other three casino license applications from the communities of Ottumwa, Fort Dodge and Tama County were turned down. All the five members of the commission agreed to grant a casino license to Lyon County Casino and Golf Resort which would be located north of Larchwood near the South Dakota border. The commission’s analysis showed that a casino in Lyon County would not have an adverse effect on Iowa’s other established casinos, and has the potential to attract gamblers from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which is just eight miles from the planned project. The other three proposed casinos have not shown such capacity for drawing gamblers from other states.

Commissioner Paul Hayes said the commission’s studies have estimated that 80 percent of the approved casino’s revenue would come from gamblers outside Iowa, while for the other three, only less than 10 percent of their revenues would be from out-of-state customers. Commissioner Andrea Rivera-Harrison said the Lyon County project has satisfied the commission’s requirements and standards and will not have an impact on the casinos currently operating in the state. Commissioner Kate Cutler, mindful of the figures showing that Iowa has nearly reached the limit at which no more casinos can be added, said she decided to vote only for the Lyon County project because of the risks posed by the other three on the businesses of the already existing casinos.

The members of the commission commended Kehl Management, which will develop and operate the planned facility, for putting together a plan that is practical and achievable and with sound financial estimates. The $120 million Lyon County resort project will include a hotel with 100 rooms, and event center that could seat 1,200 people, an 18-hole golf course, three restaurants and a casino with 900 slot machines. It is believed to give rise to hundreds of construction-related jobs, and hundreds more for permanent jobs, offering economic relief to the residents of Lyon County.

Khel Management plans to start construction of the facility in June. The casino intends to open in July 2011, and the golf course by 2013. The entire resort is expected to gross $80 million in revenues, and $70 million of that would come from gambling. Iowa’s gaming regulators have decided not to grant new casino licenses for the next three to five years, seeing that with the opening of Lyon County casino, Iowa would have more than enough casinos, with several of the existing casinos barely making it financially owing to the economic slump.