The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. (file photo)
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission heard formal presentations at their meeting Thursday from the two groups which did market surveys to determine the impact of the proposals for a new casino in Cedar Rapids.
The studies by White Sand Gaming and Marquette Advisors were released earlier this month. Racing and Gaming Commission administrator Brian Ohorilko says the presentations were important to fill in any blanks.
“All in all it was a good opportunity to hear how those market studies came out and allow for commission members to get any additional questions answered that they might have,” Ohorilko says. The two studies came to similar conclusions that a casino in Cedar Rapids would have an impact on existing casinos by taking away some of their revenue. Ohorilko says the studies are one of the final pieces of information needed to make a decision on any new license.
He says the decision will be made at the November 16th meeting in Dubuque after the commission reviews all the information that they’ve received since the process started in July. Ohorilko says they also received information Thursday on the background investigations of the two casino groups which submitted three proposals for the casino. He says those investigations were positive and things will proceed.
A decision will be made one way or the other — obviously we can’t speculate on what the outcome will be — but there will be a decision made at that November commission meeting,” Ohorilko says. The commission met Thursday at the casino in Emmetsburg.