The Isle of Capri Casino, Inc. has spent more than $100,000 to convince Scott, Black Hawk and Clayton County voters to renew its "riverboat" gambling franchises in Bettendorf, Davenport, Waterloo and Marquette.
The $103,116 spent by the four Isle lobbying groups as of Oct. 19 includes $19,000 for polling and surveys, $15,000 in miscellaneous "unitemized" expenses, $14,000 for campaign brochures, $3,700 for yard signs and more than $14,000 to pay casino employees for campaign travel/planning, yard sign distribution and campaign calls/presentations.
The four registered campaign committees - Citizens for The Continuation of Gambling in Scott County; Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.; Isle of Capri Bettendorf, L.C.; and Isle of Capri - Davenport, Inc. - are funded entirely by the Isle from donations by its casinos. Not a single individual is listed as having contributed either money or in-kind services to the casino campaigns.
There has been no organized opposition to the gambling renewal in any of the three counties.
Under state law, a referendum on whether to allow gambling in the county is held every eight years. The Isle has two casinos in Scott County, one in Black Hawk County (Waterloo) and one in Clayton County (Marquette). The referendum is on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.
The employee in-kind expenses include travel and wages for Isle executives from St. Louis (where the company is headquartered) for planning and meetings, as well as the expense for having casino employees attend meetings, make presentations and distribute yard signs.
Click on the links below to download the most recent (October 19) campaign committee disclosure reports for the Isle of Capri lobbying entities:
• Citizens for The Continuation of Gambling in Scott County
• Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.
• Isle of Capri Bettendorf, L.C.
• Isle of Capri - Davenport, Inc.
For earlier expenditures and campaign disclosure reports, visit the web site of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board
