Prairie Meadows is owned by Polk County and operated by a local nonprofit. In exchange, the casino shares 24 percent of its gross gaming revenue with the state and county. That adds up to roughly $6 million a year.<\/p>\n
\nI don’t see a path to a licensed casino facility on our grounds,” said airport board member Mark Feldmann. “I don’t see why we’d dedicate the effort … in face of what is really just a very remote possibility.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
That “remote possibility” would have been convincing Polk County and Prairie Meadows officials to annul their binding agreement. No such effort materialized, prompting the airport board to not even vote on the casino, but simply dismiss it altogether.<\/p>\n
Casino Needed<\/b><\/h2>\n Sinha said he isn’t interested in proceeding with the project without slot machines and table games. “Building just a hotel would be woefully inadequate,” he told the Des Moines Register<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said the city has an obligation to uphold its pledge to Prairie Meadows.<\/p>\n
“The city of Des Moines has a commitment to Prairie Meadows and Polk County to oppose any casino expansion that is not affiliated with or approved by those two entities,” Sanders stated.<\/p>\n
The Des Moines Airport Authority remains focused on building the new $500 million terminal. But, for now, it appears gambling will not assist in its funding and construction. Roughly $300 million in funding has been secured through authority cash, passenger and airline fees, and bonds and grant money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Des Moines Airport Authority has rejected a proposed $225 million casino resort that was suggested as part of an effort to fund a new terminal for the international hub. The casino scheme came from Iowan businessman Reggie Sinha and his Highview Development Group. In addition to the gaming space, the project called for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":126618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Des Moines Airport Board Rejects Casino Proposal<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n