Column -- The Riverboat has Sailed

Another wheel tax proposal. This time it's roulette.

Cedar Rapids City Council member Justin Shields made headlines by suggesting that we revive the idea of casino gambling in Linn County and prepare for a vote in 2011. Shields believes revenue from a gambling/entertainment facility could help give the city's downtown area a shot in the arm. He's not alone.

Gambling was defeated 53 percent to 47 percent in Linn County in 2003. But casino dreamers say things would be different now. Gambling is more accepted, less controversial. Maybe they're right.

I can't blame Shields and others for wanting to roll the dice. State leaders have pretty much left cities with a three-item revenue menu: prosperity-punching property taxes, a regressive penny sales tax or a fleet of slot machines. And, really, what are the odds of getting comprehensive property tax reforms out of the Legislature anytime soon? Diddly-squat.

I'm surprised it took this long for a public gambling discussion to start. It's an inevitable offshoot of all the Dubuque-envy we've been hearing around these parts from public officials and candidates.

Gambling-fueled riverfront revitalization helped convince IBM to lavish 1,300 jobs on Dubuque. It's natural to see the path to prosperity paved with poker chips.

Far be it from me to discourage dreaming. But I fear our riverboat has already sailed.

In 2003, studies showed the Cedar Rapids area was a big, fat casino market ripe for the picking. Local voters balked. Now, the gambling world is very different.

Newish casinos are located to the north in Waterloo and to the south at Riverside. The Quad Cities market still pulls from the east. Things are pretty crowded.

Iowa has 17 state-licensed casinos and racetracks regulated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which has the power to grant new licenses.

But Iowa's casino cartel has made it crystal clear that new competition is not welcome. I don't expect the commission will bite the hands that feed the state giant piles of tax revenue.

Five communities will submit license applications this month, including Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Tama County, Franklin County and Lyon County. It's a good bet Lyon County, in far northwest Iowa, will be the only winner. Other applicants would take business away from the cartel. So scram.

That's what Cedar Rapids would be up against. Casino towns that already gobbled their slices of the gambling pie will scream “saturation,” and the commission will listen.

We can still grab a fork and get in line. But the casino buffet is down to its last crumbs.

Contact the writer at (319) 398-8452 or todd.dorman@gazcomm.com