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[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Gazette.]

  Schoolwork takes priority, said Gibson, a 23-year-old University of Iowa graduate student in computer science. Still, he expects to be at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort to play in its 14-table poker room as much as once a week after it opens Thursday night.

  ‘‘We play online so much that it will be nice to play face to face,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sure we’ll be going down there fairly often.’’ Not everyone is as excited. Gambling is increasing in popularity among young people, and experts The Gazette interviewed said having a casino so close to a large college population will lead to more student gambling problems.

  Tens of thousands of college students in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Mount Vernon are within an hour’s drive of Riverside, with about 30,000 at the UI. ‘‘Believe me, gambling is going to increase at the University of Iowa. Proximity is going to lead to more participation,’’ said W. Scott Wood, a Drake University psychology professor doing gambling research. He also is an Iowa Gambling Treatment Program advisory committee member. The Riverside casino will have nearly 1,200 slot machines, 30 table games and a poker room.

  Casino officials said they are aware most students are under 21, the legal gambling age in Iowa casinos, and will not market to them. Casino advertising in the UI student directory and at Kinnick Stadium will focus on the resort’s restaurants and hotel, marketing director Cheryl Good said.

  ‘‘This is adult entertainment, and we want to keep it as such,’’ she said.

  And it’s entertainment that’s becoming increasingly popular with young adults.

  The number of people ages 14 to 22 who gamble on cards monthly jumped 20 percent between 2004 and 2005, a survey by The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania showed.

  Furthermore, 50.4 percent of college males gambled monthly, compared with 41.3 percent of male youths not attending school, the survey found.

  Dr. Donald Black, a UI psychiatry professor, said he increasingly sees more students in his gambling treatment studies. He said students have said they enjoy going to casinos but only do so occasionally because of the distance.