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Casino, resort rolls through its first month

Rachel Gallegos

Iowa City Press-Citizen

September 30, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, 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 Iowa City Press-Citizen.]


It's been about a month since the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort opened to the public -- but what a month.

The facility opened Aug. 31, and during its first weekend, the resort saw more than 50,000 guests. Since then, "we got the kind of crowds we anticipated we would," General Manager Joe Massa said Friday.

The $140 million project opened two years to the day after 52.2 percent of Washington County voters approved the gambling referendum, the closest margin of any of the 15 county gambling referendum votes that took place in 2003 and 2004.

Along with 58,000 square feet of gaming space, the resort features a 201-room hotel, four restaurants, an event center, spa and an 18-hole golf course designed by Rees Jones that is set to open in June 2007.

"It seems to be well received," Massa said.

Before the casino and resort opened, officials estimated 1.6 million visitors a year.

On opening weekend, Iowa native Tom Arnold performed on the Show Lounge stage. Two weeks later, "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno performed to a crowd of 750 people on the Event Center stage.

"That went off very well," Massa said.

As for future entertainment, "we're rounding out the schedule for the next six months," Massa said. Upcoming performances include Buddy Guy Oct. 20, The Little River Band Nov. 3 and Jason D. Williams Nov. 4.

A popular time for the casino and resort are Hawkeye football home game days.

The casino hosts a Hawkeye Tailgate at the resort. People can also sign up for the Park n' Ride, which transports Hawkeye fans to and from the casino before and after the game. People need to register for these two activities the Thursday before the game, Massa said.

Riverside Mayor Bill Poch said that he feels things have gone smoothly the past month.

"Traffic, other than the opening night, has been fine," he said. "No real complaints. ... Business as usual."

Jerry Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bar & Grill, said he has seen a light increase in business because of the casino and resort.

"We get people coming and going. It's not dramatic, but it's definitely noticeable," he said.

Casino employees are some of his frequent customers, with Murphy noting that there were eight in the restaurant Friday afternoon at about 4 p.m.

To meet this new customer base, Murphy said the restaurant is now opening every other Saturday at 11 a.m. for casino employees getting off the third shift and that the bar is open later.

Ed Raber, executive director of the Washington County Economic Development Group, which holds the gambling license for the casino, said he knows of a number of vendors in the county that have picked up the casino as a client. He said he also has noticed, when driving around the casino's parking lot, that there are a lot of out-of-county license plates.

Raber said he hasn't heard of any employers saying that business is terrible because of the new resort, nor have employers said business is great because of it, either.