Sioux City Leaders Against Lyon County Casino
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Next week the Iowa Racing And Gaming Commission will discuss whether or not to grant gaming licenses for proposed casinos in the state, one of those includes a new casino slated for Lyon county. But Sioux City leaders are chiming in, saying any money that might go to Lyon county would just take away from Woodbury County.
Like Sioux City, Lyon County is a border community trying to stay competitive with Sioux Falls. They say they need an attraction to keep money in Iowa, Sioux City says as far as casinos go, Northwest Iowa already has a full house.
Lyon County economic development director Glenn Anderson says a casino is vital for his community to keep money and jobs local.
"We have about a 40 to 45% leakage rate here in Lyon County in finances," said Anderson. "Because we're so close to Sioux Falls, we have a large portion of our monies that are made here in Lyon County and spent in South Dakota and Sioux Falls."
The casino would be built a few miles outside of Larchwood, Iowa, putting it just a couple miles outside of Sioux Falls, and about 90 miles from Sioux City.
Anderson says recent reports show if the casino is built, it won't draw much business away from the Argosy in Sioux City.
"Are we looking to take away? No. Studies show that a mere 3 percent is what could draw from the Sioux City area," said Anderson.
The Siouxland Chamber of Commerce says 3 percent is a low estimate.
"There's differing reports, I mean, everything from a minimum of 3 percent, but again, 3 percent on a multi-million dollar organization is still impacted, I mean, there's an impact there. All the way up to, even as high as 10 percent," said Durham.
Durham will be joining other local officials, including Mayor Mike Hobart, County Supervisor Larry Clausen, and Mark Monson from Missouri River Historical Development, at the gaming commission meeting on the 16th in Des Moines.
They plan to ask the commission to be cautious before allowing another casino so close-by. Leaders from Argosy will also be in attendance to voice their concerns.
"The study shows that the supply is meeting the demand," said Tom Teesdale, Director of Marketing and PR for Argosy Casino. "We know that if we bring on additional supply, then there's going to be some cannibalization of existing markets and we're going to lose market share."
Argosy says they are already operating on a tight budget with the recession, and if they lose any more revenue that could mean jobs lost, and less money going to local governments and organizations.
Lyon County officials say they hope to work cooperatively with Sioux City leaders to come to some sort of operating agreement so both communities can enjoy the revenue that casinos bring in.
The proposed $90 million Lyon County casino and resort would have around 400 employees, 800 slot machines, and 24 card tables.
