Ground broken for Waterloo casino

A company that saw its casino operations in Mississippi devastated by Hurricane Katrina broke ground this morning (Thursday) in Waterloo for a new casino. Isle of Capri president Tim Hinkley ventured to chilly eastern Iowa and says it’s good for the company to get this project moving. He says it’s “very significant, especially with what’s happened down at our corporate offices in Biloxi and at our properties in Biloxi.” He says they’re going to rebuild in Biloxi and now the race is on to see if the rebuilding in Biloxi will be completed before the new building is done in Waterloo.Hinkley says a lot of work has already taken place in preparing to build the 100-Million-dollar hotel and casino complex in Waterloo. He says they’ve been getting all the permits and planning in place. Now he says they’s start “blowing and going” and should be ready for the grand opening in about 18 months. The casino will have 11-hundred slot machines and thirty gaming tables. The Isle of Capri is the last of the four new casinos approved by state regulators to get underway with construction. The others are already under construction in Worth County, Washington County, and Emmetsburg.