Stinky Penn National Deal

Dianne M. Berlin

PENN NAT'L! STENCH!!! Sioux City nonprofit gambling group temporarily halts grants to local charities

http://m.therepublic.com/view/story/4e55957591174081b09a56cf95f29bbb/IA--Sioux-City-Casino

 

Sioux City nonprofit gambling group temporarily halts grants to local charities

January 14, 2014 - 9:55 am

 

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The nonprofit organization that holds the gambling license for the Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino has voted to stop sending grants to local charities and governmental bodies for now.

 

The Sioux City Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1d3kMl4 ) that lawsuits over which gambling operator has the right to run a casino in Sioux City has prompted the Missouri River Historical Development board to temporarily stop approving grants.

 

The board is the nonprofit holder of the gambling license for the casino operated by Penn National Gaming Co.

 

Iowa law requires casino operators to contract with and share a portion of their revenues with licensed nonprofit organizations such as the development board.

 

However, Penn National has withheld more than $900,000 from the board since May after Penn National filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the nonprofit.

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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com

 

 

Supreme Court intervenes in Sioux City casino case

Updated 9:48 am, Friday, December 20, 2013

 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Supreme Court justice has given hope to the builders of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City that they might not have to stop construction after spending $44 million on the half completed project.

 

Justice Brent Appel on Thursday granted an emergency stay of Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson's Dec. 10 ruling suspending the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino gambling license, the Sioux City Journal (http://bit.ly/1i7Du2E ) reported.

 

Hanson suspended the license as he ruled on a lawsuit challenging the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission's April decision, which gave Hard Rock casino owners a gambling license instead of Penn National Gaming, the owner of the Argosy riverboat casino in Sioux City.

 

The commission decided in June 2012 to take bids for a land casino after growing frustrated when Penn National couldn't reach a long-term contract with a local nonprofit sponsor. Penn National has operated the Argosy riverboat casino since 2005 when it bought Argosy Gaming.

 

Iowa gambling laws require casino operators to contract with nonprofit organizations and share profits with local community organizations.

 

Penn Nation eventually partnered with a nonprofit and submitted a bid for a new casino project.

The commission, however, voted in April to grant a new license to the Hard Rock project instead of Penn National's proposed project.

 

Penn National sued claiming the commission violated its own rules, Iowa law and Penn's constitutional rights during the bidding process for a new casino.

 

Hanson concluded that Penn National had the "substantial possibility" it would ultimately succeed in its lawsuit and issued a ruling that suspended the license issued to the Hard Rock casino.

 

That created huge issues for SCE Partners, the Hard Rock developers because they've already spent $44 million on the casino that is scheduled to open in January 2015. The city has already paid $5.5 million in promised tax financing for the project and has borrowed $22 million for parking and other infrastructure related to the casino project.

 

The commission and Hard Rock attorneys asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case, saying Hanson's order jeopardizes financing for the $128.5 million project and millions of dollars in future casino revenues, as well as other economic benefits for the state and local community.

 

Penn National claimed its Argosy casino employs more than 300 people and generates $56 million in revenue a year and would incur "irreparable harm" unless the license for Hard Rock isn't suspended while its legal challenges are heard.

 

In its appeal, the commission counters that the Argosy faces no immediate injury because the commission has allowed the floating casino to continue to operate while construction continues on the Hard Rock casino.

 

Appel's order gave Penn National Gaming Co. until noon Tuesday to respond to the filings by the commission and SCE Partners.

 

One or more justices will then review the case and decide how to proceed.

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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com

 

Iowa: Racing to the Bottom ASAP

Hard Rock Casino to be built in Sioux City, Iowa
April 22, 2013 9:30 AM by Staff & Wire Reports

Sioux City Entertainment will build a Hard Rock Casino in northwest Iowa’s Sioux City after the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission awarded a gambling license Thursday to the group.

The commission chose from four proposals for land-based casinos in Sioux City after hearing proposals, meeting with developers and touring the proposed sites last month for casinos to replace the Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino. State regulators decided in 2011 to replace the Argosy with a land-based casino.




Gambling was sold in Iowa as RIVER BOAT GAMBLING to cater to 'TOURISTS.'
Then the boats docked. Now they're land-based. Gambling always escalates.

Penn National Gaming Co., which currently runs the Argosy, submitted two proposals for a casino — one just outside of Sioux City and one in downtown Sioux City that would have required the demolition of several buildings. Ho-Chunk Inc. also put in a bid to build the proposed Warrior Casino & Hotel, a $122 million project slated for the Davidson Building and Warrior Hotel.

But Sioux City Entertainment’s bid for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for $118.5 million was selected. It will be at the site of the historic Battery Building in downtown Sioux City.

“Obviously, we’re very happy with the decision,” said Bill Warner, president of Sioux City Entertainment and founder of the group’s Las Vegas parent company, Warner Gaming. “We had no idea how it was going to go until they announced it.”

The vote was not unanimous. Commissioners Greg Seyfer and Delores Mertz voted against awarding the license to the Hard Rock site, with Mertz earlier declaring the Ho Chunk proposal as her pick and Seyfer preferring Penn National’s downtown proposal. All five commissioners expressed difficulty in coming to a decision.

“I have never lost so much sleep,” Mertz said. “It has been really a wrenching decision.”

The winning Hard Rock proposal will see a casino with 800 slot machines and more than 200 gambling tables, Warner said. It will also sport an 800-seat venue for entertainment acts and concerts, several restaurants, a 60-room hotel and a “backyard” park setting around a small lake that can hold 3,000 people.

Construction is set to begin in July and is set to be complete by July 2014.

If the casino is not up-and-running by March 31, 2015, a fine of nearly $54,000 a day will be accessed against the casino’s developers until it opens.

http://www.gamingtoday.com/articles/article/41099-Hard_Rock_Casino_to_be_built_in_Sioux_City_Iowa

Iowa: Sucking the last $$$ from residents

Lamberti: State getting close to 'critical mass' for casinos

By Mike Wiser, Des Moines Bureau

 

Surely, there must be more discretionary income that can be sucked from Iowans!

JOHNSTON — The state may not be at “critical mass” for casino licenses, but it’s pretty close, the chairman of the state’s gaming regulatory board said.

Jeff Lamberti also said he’s watching what happens in Davenport “very closely” as the city makes moves to operate a casino there, but he doesn’t think other casino operators have to worry that the acrimony that erupted in Sioux City will spread to other casinos.

“That was just a very unique set of circumstances,” said Lamberti, a former state senator and attorney from Ankeny. “Licenses are privileges, they are not a right.”

Four partnerships are bidding for the Sioux City casino license held by Penn Gaming Co. which runs the Argosy Casino. The license was put up for bid after the nonprofit license holder pushed to replace the boat with a land-based casino.

Lamberti made his comments during a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” show, which is scheduled for broadcast on Dec. 28 and Dec. 31. He was joined on the show by Wes Ehrecke, president of — and chief lobbyist for — the Iowa Gaming Association.

Iowa has 15 casinos, three race tracks and two Native American-run casinos. The 15 state casinos accounted for more than $1 billion in adjusted gross revenue in the 2012 fiscal year that ended this summer.

In Davenport, the city has proposed creating a city-appointed nonprofit board to run its casino, which would be a unique relationship for a city and gaming company in the state. Lamberti said he’s reserving judgment on the idea until he gets a specific proposal from the city, but he doesn’t like the idea of splitting casino operations between downtown Davenport and one near Interstate 80.

“I will tell you and I’ve told (city officials), I have some concerns about the location, because I believe an interstate location is the prime location there,” he said. “The difference is while we have to take into account what happens in the local community — that’s a big part of what we do — the commission represents the state of Iowa. We have to see what’s going on in the rest of the world, so to speak.”

Ehrecke said his clients also are watching what happens in Davenport with concern, especially if it leads to other municipalities wanting to take a larger role in their licenses.

“We’re certainly watching this with some interest, that whole idea of a municipality managing and running a casino, that would be unprecedented. It’s raised a lot of questions,” he said. “There’s a lot of unknowns right now. We just have members raising a lot of questions.”

He said the commission hasn’t taken a formal position on the situation in Davenport yet.
Ehrecke said casino operators also are watching whether the state will allow more licenses.

Cedar Rapids is the largest metropolitan area currently not served by a casino, but Linn County residents are set to vote on a May 7 referendum to gauge support for a Cedar Rapids casino. There also has been talk in other communities, such as Ankeny in Polk County, about possible gaming expansion.

Lamberti said “there is no moratorium” on licenses in the state and the commission will look at any proposal that comes before it. He did say, however, that the commission looks hard at if a new casino would eat into an existing customer base or draw in new customers.

“This is a pretty mature industry in Iowa,” he said.

http://globegazette.com/news/iowa/lamberti-state-getting-close-to-critical-mass-for-casinos/article_6bc37268-4bfd-11e2-9622-0019bb2963f4.html