The opportunity

Ottumwa is once again ready to roll the dice for a casino license. We were just taking a chance at this gambling table a few short years ago — turned down by an excruciating 3-2 vote. But, here we are again, feeling the dice clicking in our cupped hand, swirling the wrist, praying for luck. You can’t win if you don’t play they say. But, again we’re playing against “House” odds. We’re playing against the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission with their preconceived notions and bias.

The IRGC

Who are these decision-makers on the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission who hold communities’ futures in their hands? And what is their expertise? What does it take to be a citizen member on one of these boards? I for one would like to know because these un-elected boards hold a lot of power.

History

Three-to-two. Remember that score. That’s the slim margin Ottumwa failed to get a license the last time. Out of 10 casino license applicants from seven communities (Waterloo had three competing proposals), four received approval while Ottumwa was the closest to the money-making door. Slam! Fingers still sting from that door slam. Think about how much in local taxes, the jolt to the downtown, to Bridge View and every other budgetary concern that one vote cost this community. Sometimes it truly is a game of inches … of fingertips.

History is always important to look back on, even when painful, because lessons can be learned.

Warped criteria

This brings me to the warped criteria the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission had during the last selection process. The theme for approving casinos seemed to be an oasis of entertainment off a freeway in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere. Criteria seemed to include driving 75 mph off an exit ramp into a parking lot. Having casinos off a bypass makes tourists “bypass” the local communities.

How does this help a community’s economic development? I thought economic stimulation of a downtown and community was a top priority. Ottumwa had one of the noblest bids in an effort to help its events center and stimulate economic development downtown. Instead, the gaming commission seemed to want locations that took money away from other communities. We need to communicate to Gov. Chet Culver and the IRGC that this line of thinking needs to change. The criteria shouldn’t just be about what maximizes the gambling revenue for the state. It should benefit economic growth of communities, not harm them. Maybe a highway casino will bring in a slightly greater percentage of gambling revenue than a community-based one, but this does not take into account the snowball effect of economic growth the community could gain from that casino magnet, which also results in state tax dollars.

Last two governors support Ottumwa’s efforts