Council Bluffs expansion approved

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved an expanded expansion plan for the Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs today (Thursday) during their meeting in Johnston. The commission had earlier approved a 38-million dollar proposal — but Bluffs Run general manager Gaye Gullo says the new plan includes 100-million dollars of work. She says for them to take advantage of the addition of table games, they found they needed more space. She says they could only fit 149 of 250 new slot machines approved after moving things around and knocking out walls. Gullo says they decided if they were going to expand, they might as well look at the entire operation. She says as the footprint of the property increased they decided they needed better quality restaurants, which meant they needed new kitchens, and then things started to snowball. She says they decided to create a new casino area instead of trying to retrofit an old area, giving them higher ceilings and better air handling. Gullo says the expansion will make it the largest casino in the state. She says they’re building a new structure that will be attached to the current casino. It will be around 100-thousand square feet, including a 64-thousand square foot casino and a poker room. Gullo says they’re also upgrading their food operations. She says they’ll renovate the current grill into a cafe, and they’ll also build a new 140 seat steakhouse she calls a high-end tablecloth restaraunt, and a buffet she says will be the best anywhere. Gullo says the name of the casino will be changed to the “Horshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park” once the renovation is completed and opened in March 2006.