Davenport celebrates opening of casino complex

DAVENPORT (AP) ? More than 1,000 invited guests celebrated the opening Thursday of Iowa?s newest casino while hundreds of gamblers lined up outside the $110 million center in Davenport, eager to get inside and test their luck.

Many of the guests on hand for the opening ceremony were dressed in tuxedos and sequined cocktail dresses, according to the Quad-City Times.

Besides the casino, the complex near Interstate 80 includes a 106-room hotel and events center. The casino?s gaming floor has 800 slot machines and 34 table games.

Davenport resident Marie Christian, who was among the first to play the slots, was impressed by the new casino. As a member of the government board that will distribute a share of the casino revenue to area nonprofits, Christian said she was also excited to think of how much charities will benefit from the gambling.

?I love it. I think it?s beautiful. It is something to do that is elegant,? Christian said. ?When you think of Iowa you don?t think of elegant.?

?We had to see the new place,? said Sue Wren, of Shorewood, Illinois.

Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch said he expects the casino, hotel and events center will create ?a synergistic energy? in the north Davenport area.

The complex replaced a longtime riverfront casino in Davenport and is among 19 state-licensed casinos in Iowa.

Iowa also has three casinos operated by American Indian tribes.

Iowa allows one of the widest ranges of legalized gambling choices among 41 states with casinos, including charitable gaming, pari-mutuel wagering, lotteries, commercial casinos, American Indian casinos, dog racing casinos and a horse racing casino.