Don’t ruin the ending of Cedar Rapids’ casino quest

So, you’re reading a book, and just getting to the good part.

Then you come upon a page that abruptly declares “The end — By order of the state of Iowa.”

Well, that’s a bummer. We’ll never know how it would have ended.

That’s akin to what’s happening in the Iowa House, where a bill slapping a five-year moratorium on the issuance of new casino licenses in Iowa appears to be picking up steam. It easily cleared a subcommittee and the whole Ways and Means Committee on Monday. Floor debate in the House is expected today.

If the House and Senate pass the bill, and the governor signs it, the moratorium could take effect by Feb. 6, the day the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is set to decide the fate of Cedar Crossing. Or maybe the Senate will pass its own version.

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, is the architect of the moratorium. He insists a $275 million Cedar Crossing Casino in Cedar Rapids would lead to revenue and job losses at nearby gambling parlors.

He points to a pair of market studies requested by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission that show although Cedar Crossing would result in additional state gambling revenue, it also heavily cannibalizes Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, the Isle in Waterloo and other operations.

The moratorium would last five years. But that’s not all.

Kaufmann’s bill also dictates that the Racing and Gaming Commission can’t approve a license if the new facility would take more than 10 percent of existing casino revenue from an existing casino. Also, a county denied a license must wait eight years before trying again.

After eight years, no new casinos could be licensed if they negatively impact a facility on Iowa’s border or in a rural county with less than 30,000 people. This is Riverside’s competition-free golden ticket.

The bill is expected to clear the House. Its future in the Senate is a mystery. Last year, the Senate tossed aside a House moratorium bill in the final hours of the session.

Kaufmann’s hubris might doom the bill. A straight-up moratorium likely would have a better chance than his version, loaded down with further edicts. In the eyes of Senators, the bill may go too far in grabbing authority from the Racing and Gaming Commission.

Why do we have a commission if the Legislature wants to take away its ability to independently handle one of its largest responsibilities? And if you saw previous Cedar Rapids applications go down in flames, it seems commissioners clearly understand this cannibalization stuff.

It’s possible Kaufmann’s push to get this on the books quickly is a sign that the commission just might award a license to Cedar Crossing after all of this time. It would seem moratorium backers would have little to fear, given the commission’s track record. But for some reason, they’re worried.

The Cedar Rapids Development Group PAC, representing investors, and Elite PAC, Dan Kehl’s casino empire, including Riverside, have been sprinkling magic money onto legislative and state campaigns.

In 2023 and 2024, Elite PAC donated nearly $320,000, mostly to Republican legislators and legislative candidates. The Cedar Rapids Development Group PAC donated more than $220,000 during the same period.

That’s a lot of dough, but it pales in comparison to the tens of millions of dollars at stake in this casino chase. The next seven days will determine whether Cedar Crossing gets a license. Either the legislative moratorium will end the quest, or it will reach the commission’s ultimate verdict. And we get to read the end of the book.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com