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Iowa Senator Calls for More Casinos

IOWA – As reported by the Des Moines Register: "The clamor for more Iowa gambling grew louder Monday with Senate Republican leader Stewart Iverson proposing that riverboat casino projects be permitted in Fort Dodge, Ottumwa and Franklin County.

"Diane Hamilton of Storm Lake, chairwoman of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, said the commission was standing firm behind last week's decision to award only four new gambling licenses while rejecting other applications. Casinos will be built only in Waterloo, Emmetsburg, Riverside and Worth County, she said.

"…Iverson, of Dows, suggested that regulators should allow up to seven casinos - one for each county where voters have approved ballot proposals in the past two years to permit casino gambling.

"…Gov. Tom Vilsack began applying pressure on state regulators late last week when he suggested the commission should reconsider its decision to deny a license for the $40 million Wild Rose Ottumwa casino project. Vilsack aide Matt Paul said Monday that the governor simply wanted Ottumwa residents to know his stance because he was familiar with the community's economic difficulties as a longtime public official from Mount Pleasant in southeast Iowa…"

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