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Iowa Casino Selections Brings Joy, Bitterness

IOWA – As reported by the Des Moines Register: "No one will be gambling at an Ottumwa casino in the next few years, and Steve Siegel bitterly called it another slap at southeast Iowa.

"…The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Wednesday approved four new casinos, prompting hoots of joy from winning communities and subdued questions of what might have been in areas that lost out.

"…The commission approved casinos in Waterloo, Riverside, Worth County and Emmetsburg. It turned down proposals in Ottumwa, Franklin County and Fort Dodge, along with other bids in Emmetsburg and Waterloo.

"The panel is expected in July to consider blocking additional licenses until at least 2008 or 2010.

"Siegel, a veteran politician who heads the group that sponsored the Ottumwa proposal, said the casino was a key part of a broader redevelopment plan. He said he'd like the commission to reconsider but suspected that a moratorium was coming that would prevent additional licenses from being issued.

"…There was plenty of joy in Riverside, a town that recently was the victim of a televised spoof by William Shatner, whose Captain Kirk character in 'Star Trek' is a future resident of Riverside.

"…Similarly, insurance agent Lloyd Petersen of Graettinger listened as the votes came in for nearby Emmetsburg, where a proposal for a casino on the east edge of town trumped one for a lakeside operation…"

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