Invitation: Isle of Capri, You are Invited to Fly Your Bird out of Davenport

After reading QCI’s entry on the Isle of Capri, I was inspired to look into this and truly review the lines and lines of complete bullsh*t that we have been fed by this company. I want you to take a moment and read this article:

8-16-2000, No Agreement Yet on License for Isle

If you’re back and not happy, let me spray some lighter fluid on this cozy little campfire.

“…the Isle of Capri include guarantees that the gaming company's existing riverboat in Bettendorf and the one in Davenport will remain competitive and an assurance that the RDA will continue to get at least the same annual income from the Davenport riverboat as it does now.”

Now, let us review the article that got the fire started at QCI’s camp…

“At the same time, hopes for a first-class casino and hotel property in Davenport were dashed. Isle officials said that the Rhythm City Casino will be rebranded as a Lady Luck property — the casino company’s new brand for smaller casinos serving local markets.”

Now back to my fun little history lesson,

"We're looking for an income guarantee," Chamberlin said. "We want assurances that our current level of income will go forward and assurances that there will be competition so the gap in income between Davenport and Bettendorf won't grow wider."

Now it seems to me that there is a blatent about face in the promises of a short 7 and a half years ago. This, combined with the constant chain jerking of develop or not develop, on top of the let’s let the Blackhawk Hotel collect another year of dust scenario has certainly put a sour look on the face of most of us in the QC.

We are dealing with a company that is not being truthful, consistently changes their minds and took what was a profitable President Casino, and turned it into an overall embarrassment for the city.

Do they help the economy, sure they do, about a million in taxes doesn’t hurt the city coffers at all. But let’s look at something else, as I have found another bottle of lighter fluid…

“During talks with company representatives, Chamberlin said the RDA was assured that as many existing jobs as possible would be kept at the two boats, although there will probably be some immediate reorganization of human resources and training functions and staffing.”

Hmm… cause here is another article of interest:

9-10-2001, Isle of Capri Makes Changes at Rhythm City

“Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. has shuffled its top management in the Quad-City market. And in the process, Mark Lohman, the general manager of the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport and one of the first people to be employed in the gambling industry in Davenport, is no longer with the company.”

Here is where someone needs to be slapped. Just waiting a year, not a whole 7 and a half, the lies from the first article begins, and nobody calls them out on it. This move, started a cascade of layoffs from the company, combining most positions from the Bettendorf property and resulting in job losses, likely approaching the million dollar mark, if not more.

A friend of mine, and former casino employee, stated that there have been constant lay-offs and combining of positions. Everything from the general manager, food and beverage positions, gaming operations positions, human resources and even housekeeping positions, most all of them good paying supervisory or management positions have been eliminated. So which is better? Tax revenue directly from the casino, or tax revenue from our citizens of Davenport that we lost to a dishonest company.

Had the President remained, or the license be issued to a competitive firm, would we have been jerked around? Well, who knows. Business is unpredictable and companies do work to maximize profits for themselves. However, I would place a bet that we would not have seen so many job losses, and Davenport would still be getting their tax money.

Now, what do we do? Malin needs to fix the problem, and I think we should hold him responsible, along with Mary Ellen Chamberlin and the RDA. As of now, much like Stephen Colbert, I am putting Malin and the City Council on notice. (It has no authority and doesn’t hold water, but it sounds fun.)

1. Get the documentation and do the research. Show us where they lied to us and hold their noses to the fire. (Yes, even despite the fact that I have emptied two canisters of lighter fluid on it. They have been burning us this whole time, our turn.)

2. Take this to Mary Ellen Chamberlin and not only show her the burns, but let her smell it too.

3. Use every power and right that the city has been bestowed by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, to remove the Isle of Capri from this gaming license and give that license to someone that will compete with the Bettendorf establishment.

This is not just Malin, this is the council members too. I would hope that each of them take this seriously and do something about it.