Opening of Riverside Casino is Earlier than Expected

The August 31 opening will begin with a private showing in the evening for more than 2,000 investors and dignitaries, followed by the unveiling of the facility to the general public, chief executive officer Dan Kehl said.

"I think we will be bursting at the seams" on opening day Kehl said.

With construction crews at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort ahead of schedule, the casino and hotel will open earlier than originally planned - just in time for the Labor Day weekend and Hawkeye football.

The casino and hotel originally were scheduled to open September 10th. Now, it will open in time for people looking for ways to enjoy the Labor Day weekends as well as attracting fans coming into nearby Iowa City for the Hawkeyes' Sept. 2 season-opening football game.

"Ahead of schedule and on budget - that's a good thing," he said.

The entire grand opening weekend will feature live entertainment and celebrity appearances, although the details still need to be finalized.

Employees will start work in mid-August so the hotel and restaurants can go through test runs before opening to the general public.

Although earlier projections forecast the casino coming in under budget, the costs actually met the original $147 million expectation because the project grew in scope while equipment costs, such as computer system, were higher than expected, Kehl said.

Since early May, the casino has been hosting a dealer school in a warehouse off Highway 22 in Riverside. Students learn one table game at a time - blackjack, poker, craps or roulette - attending class for a four-hour period Monday through Friday.

The casino will hire 250 dealers to work three shifts, with most at the casino during the evening, late evening and early morning hours and on the weekends, said marketing director Cheryl Good.

"Dealing opens the door to a long casino career," Good said. "Most of them that we have now, this is totally new for them."

The single level casino will have about 58,000-square-feet of gaming space, with 24 blackjack tables, four craps tables, two roulette tables and the second largest poker room in the state with 14 tables. The Harrah's in Council Bluffs has 18, said Riverside poker room manager Doug Thelen.

The Riverside Casino and Golf Resort was one of four casinos that received approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in May 2005, after 52 percent of a Washington County voters approved the gambling referendum in August 2004.

Another benefit residents and business owners noted was the casino adding to the town's job base. "I'm just glad there's going to be jobs around here." Especially for older people or mothers who are looking for part-time jobs, said Brenda Mickle, owner of VintageVille. "I think it might be bringing back some people from here long ago."