Casinos are Growing

Iowa was the first Midwest state to allow gambling, when they opened a riverboat casino in 1989. Since that time, slot machines and gambling have spread across the state like wildfire.

According to a University of Northern Iowa study, in 2005 the casinos and the businesses that depend on the casinos brought in more than $3.5 billion. That is more than $1,000 for every Iowan in the state. Corn is still considered their biggest commodity, but the gap between casinos and corn is closing. Corn brought in $4.2 billion; while soybeans were beat out by the slot machines only bringing in $2.9 billion.

The slot machines and casinos have brought in 35,000 jobs for a state that desperately needed them, and Iowa is actually the birth place for “racinos”. Many other states are following suit, by adding slot machines to their racetracks, but Iowa was first. It used to be they had nothing but the state lottery and horse races, with some bingo here and there. Now, it is a gambling state.

Not everyone is happy about it though, there is a group trying to get the law reversed and have the 16,000 slot machines and almost 450 table games removed from the state. The state has one slot machine fore every 144 adults – which is a very high ratio. That ratio is twice as high as Ohio will have if they pass Issue 3 in November to bring slot machines to their state.

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