Casino gambling arrived in Council Bluffs in January of 1995 with the Kanesville Queen docking on the Missouri River, followed closely by the Ameristar Riverboat.
At the time, casinos were only allowed in two places: locations with an established dog or horse racing track, or on the water.
But in 2007, Iowa’s state law changed, allowing for land-based casino gambling. By 2013, Harrah’s scrapped the Kanesville Queen, leaving Ameristar as the lone riverboat casino in the area.
That will soon change, too.
“The boat is 30 years old and there are only two riverboats left in the state,” said Ameristar General Manager Paul Czak.
