As reported by: Sioux City Journal
The Iowa House turned back a final attempt Thursday to block the issuance of new riverboat gambling licenses in the state, handing a hard-fought victory to several communities betting on new casinos to boost their economic prospects.

Lawmakers from six counties where residents voted to allow new casinos mounted a full-court press and were able to overcome a band of anti-gambling legislators who tried to slam the door on further gambling expansion.

A previous House gaming bill contained a license moratorium, but the Senate voted earlier this week to leave a decision on expansion in the hands of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The House accepted the Senate's version with hopes of ending the 2004 session. Adjournment is expected sometime today.

Thursday's pivotal House vote marked the last major gambling issue to find resolution, and sends the entire gambling bill back the Senate for a final vote. House members approved the entire gambling package on a 56-41 vote and it is expected to easily pass the Senate, where support is stronger.

Kim Miller, a Northwood resident who has been leading the lobbying effort for Worth County expansion backers, said many people back home were listening to the debate over the Internet.

"I already know they're bouncing off the walls. They're excited," she said of Thursday's vote.

She said the focus now moves to convincing the Racing and Gaming Commission that the Worth County project deserves a license.

Rep. Scott Raecker, an Urbandale Republican who led the gambling debate in the House said the vote Thursday sends a message to the commission that they should issue new licenses.

"I think you'll see a lot of focus and attention paid to the racing and gaming commission in the next several weeks if not months as to what they are going to do," Raecker said.

The commission imposed its own moratorium on new licenses in 1998. Commissioners declined to lift that moratorium in November, opting instead to seek direction from lawmakers.

During the debate, Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, urged lawmakers to understand how a casino could help pull the Waterloo economy out of the economic depression that began during the farm crisis of the 1980s when thousands of jobs and residents left.

"Our county has just practically died. I hate to just put it so bluntly, but economically speaking, our area needs this type of development," she said.

Black Hawk County voters played by the rules when they passed a gambling referendum last year and should not have their chances shot down by the Legislature, she said.

Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, the House's leading gambling opponent, failed on a 54-44 vote to put a license moratorium back into the bill.

He called the decision a defining moment for Iowa lawmakers.

"Gambling preys upon our get-rich quick ideals. It somehow leads us to believe that it will be OK, that the problems won't be that bad," Carroll said.

Many lawmakers complained during the House debate the state has become addicted to gambling revenues.

Rep. Dan Boddicker, R- Tipton, said lawmakers would rue the day they voted to expand gambling, and said that sometimes the Legislature needs to act like parents.

"For those who want gambling in their communities I believe we need to say sorry, but in looking out for your best interests, we have to say no," Boddicker said.

Rep. Ervin A. Dennis, R-Cedar Falls, had come out publicly against gambling expansion last year but posted a surprise turnaround on the issue during the House debate.

He said he changed his mind when he learned a new casino could create around 1,500 jobs in Black Hawk County.

"More gambling in our state, folks, is business. It might not be the type of business we would like, but it is business. It does bring employment opportunities," Dennis said.

Others argued that it wasn't fair to shut out counties that didn't get into the gambling game a decade ago.

"Let those of us who are a little bit later in coming forward also participate," said Rep. Willard Jenkins, R-Waterloo.

Even several lawmakers from cities that already have gambling argued that other parts of the state should have the same chance.

Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, said gambling helped rally residents and pull the Quad-City area economy out of the farm crisis and a loss of industry in the 1980s.

"I do not think we would be there if we did not have the opportunity to bring in riverboat gambling," she said.

But Rep. Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines, said his opposition to gambling only grows as he hears of people whose entire lives have crumbled from gambling addiction.

He warned communities they would only see businesses close and crime and bankruptcies rise when a new casino opened.

"It's not economic development. There are ways to grow the economy. This is not it," Fallon said.