Opening statements for a $275 million casino proposed for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will start on May 7. 

Representatives from Elite Casino Resorts, the Iowa gaming company managing the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, along with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) from California and Cedar Rapids Development Group (CRDG), intend to present their arguments regarding whether a local Linn County ballot measure in 2021 permitted the establishment of a casino facility. 

The plaintiff, Elite, contends that the 2021 referendum merely expanded the types of gambling that county voters approved in 2013. However, given that no retail slot machines, table games, or sports betting have functioned in Linn County since 2013, Elite lawyers claim that the 2021 referendum did not start casino gambling. 

Counsel for P2E and CRDG argued that the 2021 referendum upheld the 2013 approval of casino games. 

Referendum Document 

The Iowa Code gives the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) the power to issue gaming licenses to counties that receive voter approval for gambling games via two referendums. The second referendum aims to seek voter approval or rejection of “gambling games.” 

In 2021, Linn County's ballot question inquired if voters approved the continuation of “gambling games with no limits on wagers or losses.”

"There have never been licensed gambling games in Linn County. Accordingly, there were no games that the voters could authorize to ‘continue,'” the Riverside petition contends.

In their pretrial reply, attorneys for P2E and CRDG claim that Elite has raised a baseless challenge solely because its Riverside Casino would be the most adversely affected by a casino in Cedar Rapids. Riverside is roughly 35 air miles north of where the IRGC has authorized the $275 million Cedar Crossing Casino & Entertainment Center.

"A party’s grievance over a shift in market competition is not a cognizable legal right under Iowa law,” the defendants’ response read. They added that the Riverside complaint is “untimely, legally baseless, and motivated by competitive interests.”

Cedar Crossing Casino is set for an empty piece of land on the western side of the Cedar River situated on 1st St. NW between F and I Aves. In addition to 700 slots, 22 tables, and a sportsbook, the casino proposal features three restaurants, a concert hall with 1,500 seats, an arts and cultural center, and a STEM laboratory. 

Judge Warns Construction 

P2E and CRDG are currently in the initial planning phases for the Cedar Crossing site. Judge Michael Schilling of the 8th Judicial District warned the developers that starting construction will not sway his decision and indicated in his order rejecting their stay that the 2021 referendum language, on its surface, appears to imply that a gaming facility was already functioning in Linn County. 

“The court notes that the Respondents’ decision to move forward, to begin and continue construction in the face of a lawsuit, is not a factor for the court to consider when evaluating the merits of the Petitioners’ claims,” Schilling wrote. “Nor is a decision to forge ahead with construction a defense to a defective ballot measure.”