Speakers gamble on Cedar Rapids casino decision

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Speakers voiced their feelings about the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino during more than five hours of public comment in front of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in Cedar Rapids.

Commission members visited the site of the proposed $275 million casino Nov. 20, 2024, before the meeting at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center.

The site, along Fourth Street NW between F and G avenues, is in the 100-year floodplain and was decimated during the record 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids.

City staff said that would be taken into account in the design of the complex, which also would feature an arts and cultural center and STEM lab for children.

During the parade of just over 100 speakers in favor of and opposed to the project, a handful of residents with no financial ties to the casino addressed the commission.

Each speaker was given 3 minutes and the majority of those opposed to the casino came from the Waterloo area, Dubuque, Washington County and the Quad Cities, which all have casinos, along with the Meskwaki casino in Tama, many of whom cited lower gambling receipts and “cannibalism” if the commission approves a nearby new casino.

Along with Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and other city and business leaders, some of the proponents had union ties, advocating for the estimated 1,000 jobs the casino construction would bring, as well as leaders of nonprofits, who have been promised $6 million — 8 percent of the casino’s adjusted gross revenue — to be distributed annually. Up to 500 permanent jobs were also touted.

Randy Walker has no such ties.

The Cedar Rapids retiree used his three minutes to draw attention to the effects of gambling addiction and the approximately 15 percent of gamblers who experience problems related to their gambling.

“This is kept alive off the backs of the poor and elderly,” Walker said, adding that pawn shops will flourish with a casino. “Mental health care providers tell us that five family members or friends are impacted negatively by each person’s addiction.”

He cited the 29 percent of seniors over age 60 who visit a casino at least five times a year, many of whom are on fixed incomes, with minorities five times more likely to go to casinos or buy lottery tickets, and even college students, who experience up to 6 percent addiction rates.

“The restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues are usually run out of business within a 5-mile radius of a casino within a year,” he later added, “causing a loss of jobs and tax revenues that are rarely calculated or factored into the decision to build a casino.”

Two speakers cited the risks of human trafficking.

“It’s a huge cover for human trafficking,” teacher Janice Woerner said of gaming operations.

Melissa Duffield also cited the risk of human trafficking, along with money laundering.

“The idea of a STEM program at a casino is absurd,” Duffield said, citing the normalization of gambling for students who would visit the STEM lab.

Dorothy de Souza Guedes of Cedar Rapids noted she is particularly concerned about residents who live near the proposed casino.

“It baffles me that city leaders think this is a good location,” she said. “Voters weren’t asked if they wanted a casino smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood.”

The hospitality industry already has a difficult time finding employees, she added. “We live in Cedar Rapids, not in a bubble.”

The commission will decide whether or not to approve the Cedar Rapids Development Group’s casino application during its meeting Feb. 6.