Clinton, Ia. - Smokers from across the Illinois border may keep the lucky streak going at Iowa's newest casino.
Almost 320,000 gamblers came to the Wild Rose Casino and Resort in its first four months, state records show. About two-thirds of the Wild Rose's customers live across the Mississippi River in Illinois, where a new state law bans smoking in public places, including casinos. In contrast, Iowa's smoking ban still allows smoking in casinos.
"In Illinois, you cannot even smoke on the gaming floor, and that gives us a little bit of a competitive advantage," said Tim Bollmann, the Wild Rose's general manager. But the new Rock Island, Ill., casino opening today will have some impact here, and so will a new $80 million gambling complex opening Dec. 11 at Dubuque's Diamond Jo Casino, he added.
The Wild Rose has been a bright spot in Iowa's casino industry, which has struggled to stay even with revenues from a year ago, said Jack Ketterer, administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The commission regulates Iowa's commercial casinos and racetracks.
Between July and October, gross revenue at Iowa's 17 state-regulated casinos totaled $490 million, up less than 2 percent. Meanwhile, the Wild Rose saw its revenue surge by 63 percent, to $15.7 million.
Dale Zimmerman, 83, a retired electrical lineman from Rockford, Ill., is a regular at the Wild Rose Casino, driving here every Monday. He sat in front of a stack of $5 poker chips on a recent day, puffing on cigarettes while he played Silverado Stud poker. He crushed his butts into an ashtray as a dealer dished out cards.
"I come here to win money and to have fun, too," Zimmerman said. "This just seems like a nice, friendly place to gamble."
Illinois' casino industry has been hard hit since the state's smoking ban was implemented in January, said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. Illinois' gambling revenues are down almost 20 percent and the state faces a loss of up to $160 million in taxes, he said. In addition, about 675 casino jobs have been eliminated.
The slumping economy is obviously having some effect, but there is no question many Illinois cigarette smokers are heading to casinos in Iowa, Missouri and Indiana that allow smoking, he believes.
Not all of the Wild Rose's customers like the idea of welcoming smokers in Iowa's casinos. Iowa lawmakers approved a statewide smoking ban that took effect July 1 in most public places, but it exempted casinos.
"I play the video games here and a little blackjack, and this is a real nice facility. I just have a problem with people smoking. ... I have to go out coughing. My eyes are burning," said Bob Paasch, a Clinton-area resident and former bar owner. He said he has called Gov. Chet Culver's office to complain.
Kerry Wise, a spokeswoman for the American Lung Association of Iowa, declined to speculate about whether her organization will seek to include casinos in the statewide smoking ban when the Iowa Legislature convenes in January. The association is focused on implementing the existing ban, she said. "But our goal is that we want to see all workers and all Iowans protected, regardless of where they work," she added.
The Wild Rose Casino and Resort employs about 400 people in Clinton. Admissions have soared 104 percent since the $35 million casino opened here in late June, replacing the Mississippi Belle II riverboat casino. It is owned by Wild Rose Entertainment, founded by West Des Moines businessmen Gary Kirke and Dr. Michael Richards. The company also owns the Wild Rose casino in Emmetsburg.
Tom Fullerton, a Clinton banker and a pioneer in Iowa's riverboat gambling industry, said his community has benefited from a change in state law allowing land-based casinos. The prairie-style Wild Rose is on U.S. Highway 30, almost five miles west of the riverboat docking site in downtown Clinton. The plush new single-story casino offers 600 slot machines and 14 table games, plus a 60-room hotel, a concert hall/banquet facility and two restaurants.
"These facilities are far superior, between the dining and the gaming. I think the marketplace is saying, 'This is a fun and desirable place to visit,' " said Fullerton, president of the Clinton County Community Development Association, a nonprofit partner of the Wild Rose.
Rock Island's new facility is the $150 million Jumers Hotel and Casino, about 45 miles away from Clinton.
