DES MOINES | The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has upheld its decision last month to close the Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino by July 1.
The commission on Monday quietly turned down a request from Argosy parent Penn National Gaming Co. to rehear a protracted case involving the gambling boat’s state license.
The denial is the latest setback for the floating casino, which was forced to give layoff notices to its more than 300 employees. The workers also learned Monday that its general manager is leaving for a new job at a casino in Massachusetts.
In its application for a rehearing, Penn described the IRGC’s decision not to renew the Argosy’s license as a “complete and utter sham.”
By administrative rule, an application for a rehearing is denied unless the governing body grants the application within 20 days after it’s filed, IRGC administrator Brian Ohorilko said. Monday was the last day that the five-member commission could have called a special meeting and taken action on the Argosy request.
Penn “will continue our efforts to remedy these matters through the courts,” company spokeswoman Karen Bailey said in a statement late Monday. The nation’s second-largest gaming operator has previously vowed to ask a judge to temporarily suspend the commission decision, allowing the Argosy to remain open while the company pursues its ongoing litigation against the IRGC.
In related news, Penn announced Monday that Argosy Sioux City General Manager Lance George has been named general manager at the new Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, Mass. The 106,000-square-foot racing and gaming facility, featuring live harness racing and simulcasting and 1,250 slot machines, is scheduled to open in 2015.
George’s new job is effective May 26. The appointment of an interim general manager in Sioux City is pending, Bailey said.
George was named to head the Argosy Sioux City in 2011. A year later, the company and its nonprofit gaming partner, Missouri River Historical Development, broke off talks on a new contract that would have included replacing the boat with a land-based casino.
Iowa’s unique law requires casino operators to partner with licensed nonprofits that are entitled to distribute a portion of the gaming revenues to local charitable and civic groups.
The IRGC maintained it was prohibited from renewing the Argosy’s license because MRHD refused to sign off on the application in December 2012.
The Argosy, which the IRGC allowed to stay open without a license under what is known as operation of law, is slated to be replaced by the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City.
The $128.5 million Hard Rock venue, which secured a license from the IRGC in April 2013, is under construction in downtown Sioux City and expected to open in mid- to late summer.
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