|
Cover Stories Fall 2003 Gaming Vote May Resuscitate Long-Dead Dog Track Waterloo, Iowa: Renewed interest in gambling in Black Hawk County surfaced in late June when a group of citizens led by Don Hoth, a spokesman for Citizens for Tax Relief, announced that he was spearheading a petition drive to seek a referendum on whether to allow a riverboat casino to operate on a man-made lake near Lost Island Adventure Park. Two failed 1994 referendums to allow slot machines at Waterloo Greyhound Park, which was owned by the National Cattle Congress (NCC), led to the track's demise. Live racing ended in 1994 after the NCC, unable to pay its debts, filed for bankruptcy protection. The track surrendered its gambling license in 1996. The Meskwaki Indian tribe, which operates a tribal casino in Tama, paid $9.3 million to bail the NCC out of debt in return for a lien on the property. The lien allows the tribe to take title to the track and fairgrounds if the NCC ever attempts to expand gambling at the dog track in competition with the tribe's casino. Waterloo City Council members agreed in late June to entertain a proposal from Missouri-based Grace Entertainment, Inc. that seeks to resume greyhound racing and operate a casino at the defunct track. Grace is considering paying off the $9 million lien, which would total about $19 million including interest. Grace operates The Woodlands dog and horse track in Kansas City, Kansas. Park Place International, operator of the historic Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, also has expressed an interest in reviving the Waterloo track and adding slot machines to the venue. Waterloo native Lorenzo Creighton, a former gaming industry regulator in five states, is the president of the Flamingo. Outcome: Black Hawk
County residents approved riverboat gambling on Oct. 7. "This vote
opens up a number of options for us, as well as the track," Bob Molinaro,
co-chair of the NCC Restoration Committee, said on Oct. 10. The state
gaming commission must now determine whether to lift its self-imposed
moratorium, which has kept the commission from issuing any new gaming
licenses since 1998. |