omahastylee459 wrote:omaha is also 20 times larger
Wow, Omaha grew to over a million people in the last 5 years? Omaha would be at the top of the growth charts if that was true. Last I checked, Omaha's population was a little less than 7 times CB's.
I originally was going to post something of extreme length, because I see a lot of misperceptions out there in regards to Council Bluffs and the casinos and what they've done or not done, yada, yada, yada. However, I would prefer we keep the discussion above board and not get into impugning one part of the metro (and usually on false or misleading impressions); we all need to remember a rising tide raises all ships - let's not be sinking any of our ships while the tide is rising, OK?
I used to be in the whole "council-Bluffs" boat, but recently it really just doesn't make any sense to have that view.
The casinos are excellent entertaintment oppurtunites in the metro, especially for tourists in town for a convention or business or concert or CWS or whatever.
We are one metro area, we should stop the passive-agressiveness and start acting like one metro area.
We need to reach out to CB to help develop the riverfront more, make it that much more impressive.
I think they (powers that be) should find someway that Omaha and CB could be considered one tax base and use each other's tax dollars. I think it would only make both cities prosper at an even faster rate. I'd really like to see a concrete canyon with the missouri river running down the middle.
I think they (powers that be) should find someway that Omaha and CB could be considered one tax base and use each other's tax dollars. I think it would only make both cities prosper at an even faster rate. I'd really like to see a concrete canyon with the missouri river running down the middle.
While one tax base may or may not be a good idea, I can never ever ever see this happening.
As far as a concrete canyon, I hope you mean development along both sides of the river, not a literal concrete canyon like they have in California.
I don't think any of us are on the high horse especially "with all the Nebraska moral |expletive| aside". Just trying to understand all the hype about the casinos and how it seems Nebraska supposedly missed an opportunity. I think with or without the "moral |expletive|" we are happy we can grow our city without the gambling. The casinos are just one piece of the entertainment pie and that's all.
Iowa is really addictd to gambling. On the news tonight they had 10 differant locations in Iowa that wanted to be approved for casinos. Apparently that's the only wayto get revenue in Iowa.
You did not hear that story last week. Letterman even told the story. He said "In CB Iowa the mall(mall of the bluffs) easter bunny was arrrested for verbally asulting one person and getting in another person's face". Letterman thought it was so funny.
I'm not a gambler, but have never seen that the casinos generate much harm overall to a metro area like Omaha. It is nice to see Buffs Run update itself. Now if only CB would do something to update the butt ugly look of the area just east of Bluffs Run. Get rid of the truck stop places, plant some trees and see what the area is capable of becoming.
Part of the problem I think a lot of Omahans have with CB is that it doesn't really have an architectural "face." Something that is recognizeable as CB from a distance or from a silhouette. I've explored CB many times, and I'm still not really sure where the downtown area is.
Someone suggested it on here, but I think it would be sweet if CB started devloping a new riverfront highrise financial district downtown area thing. Then it would be like the two cities are sitting face to face, as opposed to face to butt.
Swift wrote: Then it would be like the two cities are sitting face to face, as opposed to face to butt.
If we CB did have some sort of DT business area ( as it is now there DT is more like a big small town main street) than they could probably attract more people with promises of shorter commutes.
Brad wrote:You did not hear that story last week. Letterman even told the story. He said "In CB Iowa the mall(mall of the bluffs) easter bunny was arrrested for verbally asulting one person and getting in another person's face". Letterman thought it was so funny.
You forgot the part about how someone threw water and other items on the bunny and he changed out of costume and told everyone he was leaving and one of the employees told him he couldn't leave. THEN he went verbally postal. Allegedly.
Please, no more "council-Bluffs" cracks. That is so....yesterday.
Swift wrote:I've explored CB many times, and I'm still not really sure where the downtown area is.
Swift, try using the intersection of Main and Broadway for your starting point to downtown exploration. Downtown is kind of spread out, going along the base of the bluff line in a narrow corridor, instead of being more compact, which contributes to you not being sure where downtown is, in all likelihood.
nativeomahan wrote:Now if only CB would do something to update the butt ugly look of the area just east of Bluffs Run. Get rid of the truck stop places, plant some trees and see what the area is capable of becoming.
Amen. I would love nothing more than to see the truck stops relocated from that area. That would be some TRULY prime ground for development.
Just to put in Ol' Hawkeye's two cents, if that damn Midlands Mall had never been built, then you would have NO TROUBLE distinguishing Council Bluffs' "downtown" area. So many storefronts and other things were torn down to build that monstrosity. Before it, DT was actually relatively thriving with lots of people walking and so forth. No, it wasn't DT Omaha, but it was more pedestrian oriented.
Then the MM came along in the 70's and basically irrevocably destroyed most of that.
I personally don't think the absence of the mall (and it's impact on the surroundings) would have made downtown Council Bluffs any more or less vibrant today. On the other hand, what remains is a very beautiful and pedestrian friendly setting, Council Bluffs has done a great job of putting our gambling proceeds to use in sprucing up the streetscape, etc... and I have high hopes it will see a resurgence in the years to come as the area is rediscovered.
Midlands Mall was an effort to keep retail in downtown Council Bluffs and it worked for a number of years. The problem was that Council Bluffs was growing out toward I-80 and downtown Council Bluffs was somewhat isolated with no quick access to the interstate. For people in the East and Southend of Council Bluffs it was almost as simple to get to the Westroads via I-80 as it was to Midlands Mall.
They were already advertising the "horseshoe" at the Mavs hockey game on saturday night. They also announced the opening date, but it was a hockey game and I was drinking so I don't remember what that date was.
The $87 million project totaling 120,000 square feet of gaming, dining and retail space was unveiled to the media Thursday. A March 16 opening is planned.
and
The Horseshoe Casino will have 68,000 square feet of gaming with 1,900 slot and video poker machines plus 62 table games, including 18 tables in a World Series of Poker room. The carpet, done in a Horseshoe motif, is so soft it feels as though it could swallow your feet.
and
Two restaurants set against each other across from the main casino floor.
Jack Binion's Steakhouse will be a 120-seat white tablecloth restaurant. There will be at least 65 varieties of wine, and reservations are recommended.
"This will be a prime steakhouse," Gullo said.
Moving beyond the steakhouse, diners have the option of the Village Square Buffet, a 400-seat buffet. Gullo said the dessert bar will offer 60 selections on a daily basis and six cooking stations will provide choices including Asian, Mexican, American, Italian, Tex-Mex and seafood.
and
Another major attraction is on the northwest corner of the main casino floor where the Whiskey Roadhouse will be a 300-seat bar that can be expanded to 500 seats. Retractable garage doors add to the venue's flexibility. An 80-seat porch on one side will oversee the casino floor and provide a view of the main stage where local, regional and national music acts will perform.
Acts already booked include Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts and The Marshall Tucker Band for the opening weekend. The Robert Cray Band, Leon Russell and the Neville Brothers also are scheduled in the first few weeks.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
that sign, at least the bottom half, reminds me of the las vegas hilton sign...with color.
so i have a question about the horseshoe brand. when i was in vegas last march i visited the horseshoe casino in DTLV. when i returned in oct, the casino was renamed 'binions' - i assume after the guy who started the casino. in 2004 harrahs bought horseshoe gaming company, but the casino itself is not listed on the harrahs website and appears to be independent. so i dont know if someone bought the casino back from harrahs but allowed harrahs to use the horseshoe name or if harrrahs just bought the name? i emailed harrahs this and wait to see what they say.
Brad wrote:You did not hear that story last week. Letterman even told the story. He said "In CB Iowa the mall(mall of the bluffs) easter bunny was arrrested for verbally asulting one person and getting in another person's face". Letterman thought it was so funny.
COUNCIL BLUFFS - Harrah's Entertainment liked the odds and kept putting more money on the table.
First it was $30 million. Then it grew to $50 million. By the time plans were completed, the company had committed $85 million to expand the Bluffs Run Casino. Next month, Harrah's will unveil the renamed Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs.
Harrah's and industry experts don't consider the expansion a gamble. They say there is plenty of room for the area casino market to grow.
"(The market) was growing at a clip that was enough to sustain a growing facility," said Gaye Gullo, general manager of the Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
Bluffs casinos are getting bigger in the aftermath of a failed attempt in 2004 to bring casinos to Omaha. And despite concern over social ills, a renewed effort could be brewing to again put casino initiatives on the ballot in Nebraska.
There's certainly money to be made. Since the opening of the three Bluffs casinos in the mid-1990s - Bluffs Run, Harrah's and Ameristar - the combined gross gambling revenue for the casinos has increased 67 percent, to $431 million. The number represents the money lost by gamblers.
It was a lot more than a pair and three of a kind that filled up Horseshoe Casino Wednesday night. It was a real full house.
The $85-million Horseshoe Casino, 20 months in the making, opened to an invitation-only party, then the general public with a festive evening that included extreme motorcycle jumpers, fireworks and a rocking set from Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts.
Jack Binion, founder of the Horseshoe brand, was on hand for the opening of his latest baby. He liked what he saw in the new casino that includes two restaurants bearing his name or initials as part of the area's first true land-based, full-service casino.
"I think they've done a great job," Binion said. "I love the open feel a boat just can't have.
"This is a Vegas-type joint."
The casino, with 1,900 slot machines, 62 table games - including a World Series of Poker room - and the Whiskey Roadhouse entertainment venue in 100,000 square feet, also made an impact on those who aren't in the casino business.
Mayor Tom Hanafan, who helped bring the original Bluffs Run greyhound track to the city 20 years ago, marveled at what he saw.
"This is really quite a change. This is incredibly different," Hanafan said.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
New York Times wrote:COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Not many people attend the races here at Bluffs Run Greyhound Park anymore. Aside from a few dozen aging diehards cheering the dogs from the shabby grandstand, the gambling-inclined prefer to take their chances amid the bright lights and constant action of the casino downstairs.
But even though the races are losing millions of dollars each year, the owners are required to keep the greyhounds running six days a week.
New York Times wrote:Built for 6,500 visitors — the crowds were so big on opening day that many were turned away — only about 70 regulars showed up at Bluffs Run one day last week. Most knew one another by name.
Well, when they started, racing was all they offered.
In the second phase, when they had racing and slot machines only, racing was right up the escalator from the main casino and right down the passage from the upstairs casino. Very easy to walk out there and watch the dogs run. You could also eat from the buffet and sit in the clubhouse at that time.
Last phase the racing is waaaaayyyyy on the south end of the property. No foot traffic passing that way.
I remember going to Bluffs run in high school. Â 16-17 and gambling on the dogs. Â Never checked an ID. Â Even got away with drinking a few times. Â They were hard up for customers then, and that was the early 90s.
We used to have a side bet: if anyone called a dog a horse, they owed everyone else a cigarette.
Thanks for the link to the story. Â Growing up in CB I knew quite a few people that were dog handlers, but I didn't know it was that big (6,500 seats). Â I would like to go see it before it does close.
At this point it is a rumor with a lot of backing. But from many sources the Dog track will be closed in May and a new hotel will be built as soon as the track is razed.
Efforts to end dog racing in Council Bluffs got a boost when the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, in a late afternoon meeting, unanimously approved a bill its subcommittee approved earlier in the day that called for the Council Bluffs’ Horseshoe Casino, where local dog racing is held, to pay $65 million into a fund to soften the impact for breeders and owners dealing with the loss of business. The bill also specified that the Dubuque Mystique Casino would pay $7 million toward that fund.
The bill calls for the end of local dog racing at Bluffs Run on Dec. 31, 2015.
One thing they are most definitely doing, as are others owned by the CET group, is squeezing out the lower-limit slot machines with so-called "penny" machines where the minimum play is considerably higher.
We are putting in very much needed new carpet and changing the layout so that slots are grouped together by denomination. Guests can find their preferred slots when they enter any Horseshoe since it will be pretty standard across Horseshoe Casinos. We moved high limit slots right next to the Diamond Lounge and across from Jack Binion's and walled it off to make it a little more exclusive and separate from the main floor. We also rearranged the tables and realigned our pathways to better fit the layout of the ceiling lighting. Our original layout was designed for the west to be the main entrance and the original carpet pathways were based on that. However, the preference for the parking garage and building HGI changed that.