Both the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and the city council in Sioux City, Iowa recently approved the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino plans for a million expansion, which will add 8,000 square feet to the 30,000 square foot gaming floor. Plans include a new high-stakes gaming area, a wine bar and private lounge, plus 50 new slot machines and two blackjack tables on the casino floor.
General Manager Todd Moyer said, “It’s just the right timing for it. It’s great. It’s going to be well-received by the public and help us bring people from farther out, not just Sioux City residents, but people coming from the south as far as Omaha, and north as far as Sioux Falls.”
Moyer said expansion plans for the Hard Rock Sioux City, opened in August 2014, have been in the works for the past six months. He said construction is set to begin this summer and be completed in about six months. He added the expansion is in response to visitors’ requests for more gambling and drinking options.
Also in Iowa, after more than 20 years, LeClaire Park Landing in Davenport will be without a riverboat casino, as the Rhythm City riverboat closes to make way for a new land-based casino, opening June 16. Levee Improvement Commission member, Karl Rhomberg said, “Davenport has sort of had its back to the river for close to a century and it’s now looking at this river gift that we have had all along and it is embracing it. After that the city will reclaim all of the land that you see behind us.”
Rhomberg said the city council is discussing plans for the riverfront, including more green space were the casino boat now is located.
“This is an interim period that will revert to the original natural green space and we would like to develop it. We would like to have a lot of interactive sort of things that could attract people to come down here,” Rhomberg said. Besides green space, other options include a restaurant area, an eagle watch and a future docking location.
If the city council approves the interim plans, riverfront construction could begin later this summer, Rhomberg said.
