Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett says the next stop in trying to win a casino for his city could be in Des Moines.
State regulators voted 4-1 last month against awarding a license to developers for a proposed casino in downtown Cedar Rapids.
Corbett is a former legislator, and says getting such issues passed in the legislature isn’t always easy, though he says lawmakers have recently reached agreement on things like property tax reform and education reform.
Racing and Gaming commissioners said they feared the impact of a new casino on existing facilities and Corbett sees that argument coming up again at the capitol.
He says they would push the case for a more open system of handing out gambling licenses. Corbett says they believe a new Cedar Rapids casino would boost the industry overall.
The Racing and Gaming Commission will decide in June whether to award a gambling license for a proposed casino in Greene County. Commission chair Jeff Lamberti said the commission will at that time give their views on future expansion of gambling.
