Iowa: P2E submits license application for proposed $250M casino

The official application for a state license to build and operate a casino in Cedar Rapids was filed with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Association by the project developers and state officials. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), owned by Churchill Downs, is the developer behind the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will review the plan for the 250-million dollar casino in Cedar Rapids on October 3, but will not vote on the project until February. Two previous attempts to secure a casino license for Cedar Rapids failed.

The proposed Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center was unveiled in 2022 as the state legislature put a moratorium on new gaming licenses. That moratorium was lifted earlier this summer.

News 7 quoted Kim Pang, the Vice President of Development for Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E), who said: "The support we have received from local residents, the City of Cedar Rapids, nonprofits, and community leaders means everything to all of us who have worked hard to present the best application we can offer to Linn County."

The CEO of Grand Falls Casino near Larchwood, Dan Kehl of Elite Casino Resorts, has criticized a potential casino in Cedar Rapids, saying it would make casinos like Elite less profitable. Riverside is 40 minutes away from Cedar Rapids.