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Ultimatum May Sink Iowa Casino Plans

IOWA – As reported by the Quad-City Times: "RiverStone Group Inc. may have an ace up its sleeve in pressing for mining rights on Big Island, but people who live there say they have an even stronger hand.

"RiverStone, formerly Moline Consumers, is willing to sell a 100-acre-plus quarry and surrounding land near Interstate 280 and Illinois 92 to Jumer's Casino Rock Island for its proposed $90 million gambling development.

"Before RiverStone will sell to Jumer's, it wants the City of Rock Island to annex property nearby and give it a special-use permit to excavate sand and gravel from the site. In fact, a RiverStone representative said in no uncertain terms that the company will not sell to Jumer's without the right to mine.

"The problem is, the land the RiverStone people want to excavate is inside a levee system that was built to protect about 200 homes at Big Island, which is wedged between the Mississippi and Rock rivers.

"…Their latest effort to win mining approval is putting city officials in an especially tough spot. The Casino Rock Island development could create a huge windfall for dried-up city funds and spur further economic development in a city that needs it badly…"

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